Naruto's Revenge
by murderdeath21
Summary: What if Naruto and Sasuke's role have been switched? What if Naruto decided to go to Orochimaru? His goal was to destroy Konoha because of what they have done to him! What if Sasuke had given up on his revenge, and decided to bring Naruto back? Sasuke is the protagonist in this story. Therefore, Naruto is antagonist in this story. No pairing decided yet!
1. Naruto's Decision

A/N: Hello, this is my first Naruto story, other than Naruto/DBZ crossover! When I read some Dark Naruto fanfiction. I got an idea where they haven't got this idea yet. So I decided... What if their role have been switched rather than canon one? So I wrote this new story. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, so don't sue me!"

* * *

**Naruto Retrieval Arc**

**Prologue **

* * *

(Konoha- At the Forest)

While standing on the higher branch of tree, Mizuki drew his large shuriken and spun it around his single finger. He chuckled, "Die, Naruto!" as he threw the large shuriken towards Naruto, who crawled away in fear.

Iruka was stuck against the wall of warehouse, and cried, "Naruto, duck!" So Naruto did. However, Iruka suddenly appeared to shelter Naruto and took the shuriken which that stabbed into his back. He coughed up the blood. Mizuki was in shocked that Iruka actually saved Naruto!

Naruto glanced over his shoulder and sniffed, "W-Why…?"

"Because you're the same as me," replied Iruka. "After my parents died, no one ever complimented me or recognized me. Being the bad student I was, I screwed up a lot during class… Because I wanted to get everyone's attention. I couldn't get anyone's attention when I was a good student… So I acted like an idiot. It was tough… Right, Naruto?" He began to cry. "You were lonely, right? It was tough, right? I'm sorry, Naruto. You didn't have to feel that way if I was more aware." Naruto bared his teeth in anger.

Mizuki suddenly erupted up with the laughter, "Don't make me laugh! Iruka has hasted you since you killed his parents!" Then he pointed at Iruka and said, "He just wants to get that scroll back. He's trying to fool you, that's all!"

Naruto had an enough with them, so he decided to run away. Iruka cried, "Naruto! Naruto!"

Naruto continued to run away and sniffed, _'W-Why me?! Why does that always happen to me?! Is it true? The fox inside me is the reason they hated me?!' _He clenched his fists and bared his teeth very angrily. He then jumped on the branch and hopped on every branch. _'Screw Iruka! Screw Old Man Hokage! Screw Konoha!' _But then he saw Mizuki standing in front of Iruka who sat against the tree. So he decided to hide behind the tree and watched on for a while.

Mizuki stood up and scoffed, "I see. What good is there in protecting the one who killed your parents?"

"I'm not going to let an idiot like you get that scroll," said Iruka.

Mizuki chuckled, "You're the idiot. Naruto is the same as me."

"Same as you?" confused Iruka.

"Anything is possible with that scroll. There's no way that Naruto, the monster fox, won't use its powers," explained Mizuki.

Iruka sighed, "Yeah, you're right."

Naruto widened his eyes and began to frown, _'I knew it,' _thought Naruto sadly. _'Iruka-sensei doesn't recognize me inside. Well, screw Iruka-sensei then!' _He started to narrow his eyes in anger.

"I always hate him since that monster killed my parents!" admitted Iruka.

"Then why can't we kill him right now? It'd better to kill him before it's too late!" said Mizuki.

Iruka shook his head and denied, "No, because it's an order from Hokage-sama. If anything happens to them that would involves his death from his fellow villages. Hokage-sama will have us executed or something. Although, I don't even like it a bit, but I still have to follow Hokage-sama's order!"

Mizuki twitched his eyes and drew another large shuriken and chuckled, "What an idiot. Screw Hokage-sama! Iruka, I said I would kill you later, but I take that back." Then he spun his shuriken around his hand again, and shouted, "Die now!" as he charged towards Iruka.

'_What should I do?! If I let Mizuki kill Iruka-sensei, then I won't be able to graduate! If I save him, then I will be able to graduate! Then again, I will make him recognize that I'm not monster! I will use them when it's necessary!' _thought Naruto. Suddenly, he jumped up and kicked Mizuki away from him, as the large shuriken cut through the branch.

Iruka shocked, "Naruto!"

Mizuki glared at Naruto and snarled, "Damn you…"

Naruto placed the large scroll on the ground and growled, "Don't lay a finger on Iruka-sensei. I'll kill you if you do."

Mizuki scoffed, "Talk while you can. I'll finish a kid like you in flash."

Naruto crossed his index and middle fingers and threatened, "Try, jerk. I'll do a thousand times more damage back to you."

"Why don't you try it if you can, you monster fox!" demanded Mizuki.

Naruto chuckled, "We will see who's truly monster here! **Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" **In which that shocked Iruka and Mizuki. The thousands of Narutos were surrounded Mizuki.

Iruka shocked, _'Naruto… you used the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?' _then he smirked, _'I see. You're not a monster anymore that I thought you were. You saved me, Naruto…' _

Mizuki looked around him and shocked in panic, "What…?"

Naruto chuckled, "What's the matter? Come and get me. Come on." Mizuki stumbled and fell backward on his butt out of fear. "If you're not coming… We're coming!"

Mizuki screamed, "AHHHHH!" all the way to the sky.

A few seconds later, Mizuki was already beaten to a pulp and was now lying on the ground. Naruto rubbed his head and chuckled, but not a friendly. "Maybe I hurt him too much."

Iruka thought, _'What a guy… He really might surpass all the previous Hokages… Then again, why should I continue to hate him just because the fox's inside him? He's not a monster fox. He's Uzumaki Naruto of the Konoha!' _Then he looked at Naruto and smiled, "Naruto, come here for a second. I want to give you something."

A few second later, Naruto closed his eyes and waited impatient. "Sensei, are you done yet?" asked Naruto.

"All right, open your eyes," said Iruka. Naruto finally opened his eyes and noticed that Iruka had no longer worn the forehead on his head and also held Naruto's goggles. He smiled, "Congratulations. You graduate." Naruto was now wearing the forehead protector around his head. "All right, let's celebrate. I'll treat you guys to ramen!" He noticed that Naruto was beginning to smile or frown. He was not sure if he was happy or sad.

'_I knew it! I showed him that I'm no monster! Well, my first step is completed! My next step would be: Using everyone in this village. After that, I will take Konoha down when I am stronger!' _thought Naruto happily. But he had to act like he was really happy to become a ninja! Suddenly, he jumped and hugged Iruka which pushed him against the tree. He cried happily, "Iruka-sensei!"

"Ouch! That hurts!" Iruka rubbed Naruto's hair and smiled, "Naruto, I was going to lecture you about how it's going to get harder from here as a ninja. But I'll keep it until we get to the ramen shop."

* * *

**Chapter 1: Naruto's Decision**

* * *

(One year later- At the Konoha hospital)

A lot of event had happened since Naruto became ninja. He fought Zabuza and Haku together with his team: Kakashi, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke. He fought in the exam, and received the curse seal from bastard Orochimaru. He defeated Gaara during the Konoha invasion. From the inside, he was really happy that Old Man Hokage died fighting Orochimaru. Of course, he had to go with Jiraiya to bring Tsunade back to Konoha as a new Hokage.

But, he happened to run into Itachi and Kisame who were after him, because he was a Jinichuriki. And there was Sasuke who set his furious eyes on Itachi because of massacre at Uchiha Clan long times ago. Obviously, Sasuke was defeated because he did not have enough hatred, or so Itachi said. Then, there was Jiraiya who stopped the fighting. Itachi and Kisame fled.

After that, he trained to adapt into new jutsu called Rasengan. He was really interesting in it, not because it's awesome, but it was because he wanted more power so he could be stronger! They finally met Tsuande, and asked her to come with them to Konoha so she could heal Sasuke and Rock Lee, and to become new Hokage, but she refused. A lot happened until Naruto and others finally got to fight Orochimaru. Tsuande decided to become new Hokage, and was willing to heal Sasuke and Rock Lee.

Naruto had beginning to forget about his revenge on Konoha because of Sasuke and Sakura. However, that incident made him remember what he was supposed to do.

Sakura looked down at Sasuke and smiled, "Well, I'm glad your wounds aren't serious." She finished fixing the flower next to Sasuke. Sasuke was lying on the bed because of his injuries that happened with his brother Itachi. "Naruto is relieved as well." She could not help but to notice that Sasuke was really upset or something. "Sasuke-kun, are you hungry? Is there anything you would like to eat?" Then she stood up and smiled, "I'll go buy something."

After Sakura left to buy something for him, he could not stop thinking how Naruto had become stronger than he thought. He was really pissed off. He hung his arms around his back head, and remembered something what Itachi said to him.

"_I have no interest in you right now," _said Itachi in Sasuke's mind.

* * *

(Flashback Began- Somewhere- At the Hotel)

_Jiraiya glared up at Itachi and Kisame, and sighed, "So they were after Naruto, after all."_

* * *

(Flashback Ended)

Sasuke could not stand why everyone wanted Naruto instead of him. Was that because Naruto was really far better than him? He thought Naruto was dead-last in the class. He wondered if he had to fight Naruto one day. Though, he had a bad feeling for some reason. But at the same time, he was really jealous of Naruto. Suddenly, he fell asleep.

For a few minutes later, he finally woke up, and immediately sat up. He looked over at the door with a small window. He could see the shadow of Sakura inside the window. He heard the voice cried, "Hey! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's voice confused, "Huh?"

However, Sasuke was not happy to hear that voice he was very familiar with. He glared at the door and thought angrily, _'Naruto!' _

Sakura opened the door and brought some bag of food to Sasuke. She smiled, "I've bought you some apples. You don't hate them, do you?" She picked up the apple up and winked at him. "Don't they look delicious? Where did I put the knife?"

"It's right in front of you," replied Naruto.

Naruto was right. The knife was there in front of her. She nodded, "Ah…"

Naruto chuckled, "Ha! Being nervous because you're with Sasuke? How uncool."

Sakura blushed, "It's not like…"

Sasuke glared up at Naruto and thought angrily, _'Naruto!' _

* * *

(Flashback Began-At the Forest)

Naruto shouted, "U…" Few clones of Naruto kicked Gaara up into the sky. "…Zu…Ma… Ki…" Then a thousand of clones lunged towards Gaara from the above. He shouted, **"Uzumaki Naruto Nisen'nin Dan! (Naruto two thousand hit combo)" **A thousand of Narutos punched him into onto the guts and back equal to two thousand punches.

* * *

(Flashback Ended)

Sasuke was beginning to get pissed off. Sakura frowned, "Would you stop fooling around?!" He even remembered that Naruto managed to summon a large toad during the fighting against Gaara's Biju.

Naruto chuckled nervously, "I give up! I give up, I tell you!"

He even remembered that Sakura thanked him for saving her from Gaara. However, Sasuke only replied that he did not, and pointed out that Naruto saved her.

Sakura punched Naruto's head, so she could shut him up. She went back to peel the apple. Sasuke kept remembering that Itach told him that he was weak, and it was because he lacked hatred. He bared its teeth angrily.

"Well, I've finished peeling it. Now, let's cut it so it's easy to eat," said Sakura. He gave the small peeled apple to Sasuke and smiled happily, "Here you go, Sasuke-kun." However, Sasuke finally fed up with Naruto, so he knocked the peeled apple away, which that made Naruto wake up.

Naruto rubbed his face, and groaned, "Ouch!" He got up and confused, "What the?"

Sakura shocked, "Sasuke-kun?"

"What's going on?" asked Naruto. But he just noticed that Sasuke glared at him. It almost looked like as if rest of villagers glared at him. He widened his eyes and shocked, _'Those eyes… Dammit! Does he think I'm a monster fox too?!' _He clenched his fists and growled, "W-What? You don't have to stare!"

"Hey, Naruto," said Sasuke.

"What is it?" asked Naruto angrily.

"Fight me, right now," demanded Sasuke.

Naruto confused, "What?! But you're just hurt, and granny just treated you!"

Sasuke's eyes suddenly changed into Sharingan and growled, "I don't care! Just fight me!"

Sakura shocked, _'Sasuke-kun…' _

Sasuke scoffed, "You think you saved me? I don't care if she's the Godaime Hokage… Doing unnecessary things…!"

Naruto snarled, "What?!"

Sasuke finally got off from the bed and asked, "You said before you wanted to fight me, didn't you? I said I'd fight you right here and now." He chuckled, "Or are you afraid?" Sasuke and Naruto began to glare at each other.

Sakura had no idea what's going on between them, so she had to interfere them and confused, "S-Sasuke-kun, what's wrong? Naruto, say something. Why so suddenly…?"

Naruto smirked, "Perfect timing. I was just itching to fight you!"

Sakura chuckled nervously, "Why don't the both of you just cut it out, okay?"

Sasuke sighed, "Follow me." Then he walked out of door, as Naruto followed him.

Sakura remembered something about Sasuke having a curse mark that went across his face. Then again, he remembered that Sasuke told her that Naruto had a curse mark on his face when he fought Gaara. She widened her eyes and shocked, _'N-No… It can't be… If they both have like that, it's going to be bad.' _

Sasuke and Naruto climbed up on way to the roof. Finally, they made it on the top of roof and walked through the clothesline. Finally, they stopped walking and stared at each other, preparing to fight each other.

Naruto clenched his fists and thought, _'What's with this feeling? The bottom of my stomach is twitching. I want to fight you, too. And, it's giving me a thrill.' _He laughed so hard enough for Sasuke to hear.

"What's so funny?" asked Sasuke.

Naruto chuckled, "Nothing's funny. I'm excited. To think that I can finally beat you here. No, I think I can kill you. We're destined to kill each other. Do you think you can kill me?"

'_What's up with him?! It was almost as if he had changed or whatever. Does that dead-last think he can kill me? I will kill him before he can kill me!' _thought Sasuke angrily. He remembered that Itachi told Kisame that their priority was to take Naruto with them that was ordered by Atatsuki.

Sasuke snarled angrily, "What?! Cut the nonsense, you dead-last!"

"I won't be anyone's burden, nor a dead-last forever," replied Naruto. Sakura finally reached to the roof and saw that Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other.

"You… you dumbass! Why are you so full of yourself?!" asked Sasuke angrily.

Naruto scoffed, "Ha! You, who's always been so cool-headed, is talking more than usual. That's not like you. Could it be that you're scared despite the fact that you picked up the fight, Sasuke?"

Sasuke scoffed, "Whatever, let's get started."

"Before that, put on your forehead protector. I'll wait," said Naruto.

"I won't need it," replied Sasuke.

Naruto shrugged, "Whatever… I don't care if you're going to put it on or not."

Sasuke pointed at his own forehead, and chuckled, "That's true. You won't even be able to scratch my forehead."

Naruto scoffed, "No, you're wrong. I can scratch your forehead. But you're the one who couldn't scratch my forehead!"

Sasuke growled, "That's what I mean when I say you're full of yourself! You think that you and I are equals?"

"No, I'm stronger than you, Sasuke!" remarked Naruto. "I'm always better than you ever since I became ninja!"

Sasuke scowled, "You're an eyesore!"

"That's because you're still weak, Sasuke-chan!" sneered Naruto.

Sasuke shouted angrily, "Naruto!"

Naruto shouted angrily, "Sasuke!"

They both charged and punched to each other, but they caught their fist. Then, Sasuke tried to kick, but Naruto caught it. Naruto then spun him around, until Sasuke stopped by putting his hand on the ground, and kicked Naruto away. Naruto landed on the fence and bounced off back to Sasuke as he pulled his fist out.

However, Sasuke threw Naruto away before Naruto could land a blow. As soon as Naruto landed on the ground, Sasuke immediately threw a barrage of punch at Naruto, who kept blocking them. Finally, he kicked Naruto in the face, knocking him through the blanket on the clothesline. He got blanket off of Naruto, but he realized that Narut was not there. He began to look for Naruto.

So Sasuke had to jump up into the sky to find Naruto, but he realized that Naruto was there standing on the large water tank. Unfortunately, he could not see because the sun was behind Naruto. Suddenly, Naruto punched Sasuke in the face, knocking him away.

Sasuke landed on the fence and shouted angrily, "Don't be so overconfident!" Then he jumped towards Naruto, and punched him down through the blanket onto the ground. Then they both landed on the ground, and ran through between the blankets. Sasuke blindsided Naruto by kicking him through the blanket, bashing him against the fence.

Then, Sasuke picked Naruto up that covered with the blanket, and began to pummel his fists on Naruto against the fence like a boxer.

Sakura widened her eyes and worried, _'Naruto…' _

However, Naruto stopped Sasuke, and kicked him away up into the sky. Then, they both jumped up and landed on the fence.

Sakura shocked, "Cut it out already!"

They both jumped towards each other and exchanged their blows in the sky. But that only lasted for a while until Sasuke axe kicked him down to the ground. They landed on the ground and panted heavily.

'_Damn! I have enough with him! It's time for me to finish him!' _thought Naruto angrily. Then he crossed his index and shouted, **"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" **He replicated many clones that surrounded Sasuke. Then they suddenly jumped towards Sasuke, and attempted to attack him.

However, Sasuke made a great move by dodging and attacking them one by one. He dispelled every single of them. Suddenly, he noticed that four Narutos slid on the floor towards Sasuke.

They chanted, "Uz… zu… ma… ki…" Then four Narutos kicked him up into the sky.

However, Sasuke knew that last Naruto was behind him, so he made no waste to time, and made some series of hand seals.

Naruto lifted his right leg up and shouted, **"Naruto Rendan!" **However, Sasuke repelled Naruto's final attack, and bounced him off up further into the sky. Then, Naruto noticed what Sasuke's last hand seal was. He shocked, _'A tiger seal?' _

Then, Sasuke puffed out, and shouted, **"Katon, Goukakyu no Jutsu!" **He expelled out the blazing fireball from his mouth, exterminating all Naruto clones on the ground.

Sakura cried, "Naruto!"

However, Naruto was still alive. As soon as the flame cleared, Sasuke noticed that Naruto had other clone on his side and began to form the small blue sphere. Sasuke shocked, _'What is that technique?' _He placed his hand down with his other arm to support it. He growled, "Damn you!" Then he began to charge up the lightning around his hand. He shouted, **"Chidori!" **

Sakura widened her eyes and sniffed, "Stop… "

Then Naruto and Sasuke charged towards each other. Naruto shouted, "I will win!"

Sasuke scoffed, "Don't be so confident!"

Sakura gulped, "Stop it, you two…" But Naruto and Sasuke did not listen to her as they continued to charge. It was almost as if they intended to kill each other. She cried, "Stop it!" She ran towards them and began to panic.

Sasuke immediately noticed that Sakura suddenly ran to them, and shocked, _'Crap…' _

'_I can't stop,' _thought Naruto. However, Sakura continued to run towards them. Naruto and Sasuke could not stop themselves since they already were on mid-air. Suddenly, two hands grabbed Naruto and Sasuke's wrists and spun to throw them at the water tank.

Naruto shocked, _'Kakashi-sensei!' _

A long sliver white-haired stared up at Naruto and thought, _'Naruto, that's…' _He looked up at them and sighed, "What do you think you two are doing on top of the hospital? Isn't this a little bit too much for a sparring match?"

Naruto pierced a small hole on the water tank. When he released his hand, there was only a small water squirt out of the water tank.

'_That technique was without a doubt… the Rasengan,' _thought Kakashi. Sasuke pierced a big hole on the other water tank, but his arm was deeply inside the water tank. So he had to force himself to get his arm out of water tank. A large water squirted out of the water tank._'What's going on? How can Naruto know that technique?' _

Then Sasuke saw that Naruto made a small hole, as he began to smirk. _'That serves him right! He can't beat my Chidori!'_

"Sasuke, were you planning to kill Naruto?" asked Kakashi. He sat on the top of large water tank above Sasuke. "Why must you insist on being superior? Chidori is not a move to use against someone from the same village. Why did you act so childish?" Then he thought, _'Could it be from seeing Itachi again?'_

Then Naruto glared down at Sasuke and thought angrily, _'Dammit! I could have killed him if Kakashi didn't stop me!' _Then Sasuke immediately jumped over the fence and landed on the floor.

Sakura widened her eyes and shocked, "Sasuke-kun…"

Just when Sasuke saw a large hole behind the water tank where Naruto had pierced into, he was really in shocked. He bared his teeth and punched the wall angrily. _'Damn it! Naruto… How much stronger are you getting…?' _

Kakashi stared at Naruto carefully and thought, _'Not only that Sasuke tried to kill him… Naruto tried to kill him. What's going on?'_

Sakura was really upset and began to cry. She sniffed, "Kakashi-sensei…"

Kakashi sighed, _'Where is the teamwork?' _He knew that someone was standing behind the water tank. He asked, "Were you the one who taught him that technique? I believe that Naruto is still too young to be using that technique. If he screwed up, he could've killed Sasuke. Actually, he tried to kill Sasuke in the first place. Even if it was a measure against Atatsuki, teaching that technique to Naruto is…"

The long white-haired old man sighed, "Same goes for you. That Chidori's very dangerous. Still, I didn't think he would use that technique against his friend. Unless there is something much deeper between them."

Kakashi nodded, "Well, a few things."

Jiraiya looked up at Kakashi and puzzled, "A few things?"

"Simply put, it is like the relationship you and Orochimaru had," explained Kakashi. Jiraiya rolled his eyes over, remembering the similar relationship Orochimaru and he used to have.

Jiraiya nodded, "Oh?"

Kakashi stared at Naruto and said, "To him, Sasuke is his friend but, at the same time, his rival as well. And well, he's someone who just wants to be seen as an equal. He probably wasn't able to deal with Sasuke's provocation." Then he looked down at Jiraiya and continued, "He tried to catch up to Sasuke in his academy years, and that continued after graduation. The current Naruto doesn't want recognition from me or you, but from Sasuke. Because of that, Sasuke has noticed Naruto's growth in such a short period of time, creating a feeling of inferiority. Almost as if he himself hasn't grown at all. Naruto has become strong. And besides, Sasuke has… to kill a certain man without fail."

Jiraiya sighed, "Revenge, huh? So Itachi is rushing him."

Kakashi looked at Naruto and said, "That's why Sasuke doesn't want to recognize Naruto. If he does, it will negate what he is. Rivalry is a difficult thing."

Jiraiya moaned, "It's not something to admire. Maybe I should lecture him a little."

Kakashi stood up and nodded, "Well then, I'll leave Naruto to you. Anyway, I've got a mission, and I still have to speak to him about Chidori, too." Then he jumped and landed on next to Sakura. He noticed that Sakura continued to cry, and smiled, "Sakura… Everything will be fine. It will be like the old days again. Cheer up. See you." Then he jumped to leave the area.

Sakura stared at Kakashi leaving the area, and smiled happily, _'Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.' _

Then Sakura looked behind her, and noticed that Naruto was behind her. Naruto looked really upset. "Naruto…"

Naruto frowned, "Sakura-chan… Don't interfere!" Sakura was in shocked, and began to upset again.

* * *

(With Sasuke)

He sat on the branch against the tree and remembered what Itachi told him back at the hotel. Itachi told him that he was weak because he lacked the hatred. _"What have I been doing up until now?' _He even remembered that he fought Naruto on the roof at the hospital. He could not believe that Naruto was able to pierce a big hole behind the water tank. He began to get angry and frustrated. Suddenly, the wire wrapped around his waist that locked him against the tree. He glared up, and found Kakashi in front of him. Kakashi was the one who held the wire.

* * *

(With Naruto)

Naruto walked on the road, and thought angrily, _'Dammit! What have I been doing up until now? Was I supposed to take Konoha down?! How could I have forgotten about my goal?!' _He clenched his fists and bared his teeth angrily. _'This time, I will destroy Konoha when I have a chance! I'm master of prankster after all. I can set bombs, and it will go BOOM! I should have done that after the old man Hokage's death,' _Suddenly, he noticed that Jiraiya stood waiting for him. But he chose not to stop and continued to walk past Jiraiya.

* * *

(With Sasuke and Kakashi)

Sasuke struggled to break free of the wire, and glared up at Kakashi. He growled, "What's the meaning of this?"

Kakashi explained, "If I don't do this, you'll run away, won't you? Since you aren't the type who would sit quietly and listen to lectures." He noticed that there was a curse mark remaining on Sasuke's neck. He sighed, "Sasuke… Forget about revenge."

Sasuke growled, "What?"

"Well, I've seen a lot of people like you, and the fate of those who seek revenge is grim. It's tragic. You will end up suffering and hurting yourself even more. Even if you do succeed in getting revenge, the only thing that remains is emptiness," lectured Kakashi.

Sasuke scowled, "Shut up! What do you know?! Don't lecture me as if you know what it's like!"

Kakashi sighed, "Now, calm down."

Sasuke smirked, "Then how about it? Should I kill the most important person to you right now? That way you'll know that what you just said is way off the mark!"

Kakashi shrugged, "Well, I won't mind if you do. Unfortunately, I no longer have anybody important to me." Then he gave Sasuke a eyes smile. "They've all been killed already." Sasuke widened his eyes in shocked. "I've lived much longer than you. It was a bad time, too. I know very well how it feels to lose important people. Well, I'll say that we're both unlucky people. That's a fact. But we're not completely out of luck." Then he smiled, "You and I have important friends now, don't we?"

Sasuke knew what Kakashi meant. They had an important friends to them were Sakura and Naruto.

"You understand because you lost important people," explained Kakashi. Then he pulled the wire off to release Sasuke and continued, "You were given the power of Chidori because you have made important friends. That power isn't used against friends or for revenge. You should know what that power is for. Think very carefully about whether or not what I said is off or not." Then he suddenly vanished, leaving Sasuke alone to think about it.

* * *

(With Naruto- Later Night)

He sat on the top roof of building and thought, _'What should I do? What is my first move? Should I destroy Konoha tonight, or wait until the right time?' _Suddenly, four shadow figures jumped up and landed on the roof behind him. He glanced over his shoulder at them and shocked, "What?! Who are you guys?!"

The ponytail hair smirked, "The Four Sounds. I'm Kidoumaru of Toumon."

The white-haired boy introduced, "Same. I'm Sakon of Seimon."

The fat orange-haired boy introduced, "Same. I'm Kiroubou of Nanmon."

The red-haired girl introduced, "Same. I'm Tayuya of Hokumon." Suddenly, all of four ran around Naruto at high-speed.

Naruto immediately made a hand seal, and shouted, **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" **He created one clone. He ducked Kidoumaru's punch, while his clone knocked Sakon onto the wall. Then, he grabbed Kirobou's wrist, and threw him at Kidoumaru. At last, he blocked Tayuya's punch.

Tayuya widened her eyes and shocked, "What?!"

Naruto chuckled, "Heh, a cute girl wants to fight with me?" Then, he roundhouse kicked her away onto the wall, kicking up the smoke. He pointed at himself and chuckled, "I'm stronger, ya know! You can't fight me pretty well!" However, as soon as the smoke cleared, he widened his eyes in shocked. It was only bunch of logs after all. He glared over his shoulder at the Four Sounds, and sighed, "I'm in a bad mood right now, ya know! If you want to fight, I will kill you!"

Sakon sneered, "Don't talk big, weakling. Well, come on."

Naruto growled, "If that's what you want me to, then I will beat you to a pulp!" Suddenly, he charged towards Sakon.

Sakon stopped Kiroubou's move, and chuckled, "I'll do it." Then, he charged towards Naruto.

Naruto made a hand seal, and shouted **"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" **He created two clones next to him. However, just as Sakon kicked him, he immediately raised his arm to block it. Then, he grabbed his leg and spun him around.

Sakon shocked, _'He got my legs?!' _

Then Naruto threw him down to the ground, but Sakon managed to land safety. He immediately blocked the clone's punch from the left. He did not fail to notice that another one tried to attack him from the right. He caught one of clone's fist. Then, the real Naruto jumped towards Sakon and tried to punch him.

However, Sakon chuckled, "Let's hear some good sounds." Then he shouted, "Do!" For some reason, two clones dispelled in puff of smokes.

The real Naruto was in shocked, and spewed up the blood from his mouth. "What?!" He was being knocked away from Sakon.

Sakon chuckled, "Re!" That knocked Naruto against the wall.

Naruto fell onto the ground and shocked, _'Where did he attack from? That was no ordinary attack!' _

Sakon chuckled, "Your bones have a low tone. Let's hear a higher pitched sound.I'm sure you Jinichuriki could not handle this sound! How about it?"

Suddenly, Naruto sensed that Kidoumaru attempted to blindside attack him, so he had to jump to dodge. But Kidoumaru spewed out the spider web from his mouth to grab Naruto's arms. Then he threw Naruto towards Kiroubou. Kiroubou shoulder rammed Naruto, knocking him away.

Sakon chuckled, "Next will be a "mi fa so" combination." He tried to palm attack, but Naruto immediately ducked his head down to dodge it. Then, Naruto kicked him, sending him sprawling up into the sky. Sakon saw that Naruto jumped above him and shocked, "What?!" Naruto was about to use his quick Naruto Rasedan without chanting his stupid name. He shouted, **"Naruto Rasedan!" **Then he axe kicked him down, bashing him onto the roof.

(With Sasuke)

Sasuke walked on way to his home, and thought, _'What should I do? What Kakashi said is right. I should give up on revenge, and make new goal. If I don't give up on revenge, then I will be not able to achieve something. Though, that Naruto bastard may be annoyed, but I should not go reckless like that. I should not go for kill in the first place! For now, I should leave Naruto alone. I will talk to Naruto tomorrow and apologize to him.' _Finally, he arrived home, and entered the house.

He immediately lay on the bed, and thought, _'Come to think of it, Orochimaru said something to him the same thing he said to me.' _

(Flashback Began- Forest of Death)

_The tongue pulled Naruto's both arms. Naruto shocked, "Why you…!" Then, the tongue turned Naruto around. "Damn it! Let go! You snake bastard!" He struggled to break free from the tongue, but he failed anyways. The tongue apparently was Orochimaru's._

_Orochimaru stared at Naruto's red eyes and chuckled, "What should I do to you? Oh, I know! You might be very useful to me later on. I may need you someday. Let's see if you can survive this!"_

_Naruto shocked, "What?!" Suddenly, Orochimaru bit Naruto in the neck, making Naruto scream in the pain. He released Naruto afterward._

_Sasuke cried, "Naruto!'_

_Suddenly, the mark on his neck appeared for some reason. Naruto clutched his neck and growled, "What did you do to me, you snake bastard?!"_

_Orochimaru chuckled, "Someday, you will seek me out! You may need a power someday! I know of your true ambitious! You've given a curse mark from me! Seek me!"_

_Naruto growled, "Damn you!" Then he went to unconscious._

(With Sasuke)

Sasuke stared up at the ceiling and scoffed, _'Hmph! There's no way that Naruto will accept Orochimaru's invitation! Don't think I will accept your invitation, too! He has a dream to become Hokage after all. There's no way he will betray Konoha! As for me, I don't know what to do if I give up on revenge…' _

(Naruto vs Sound Four)

Sakon laughed, "Why does Orochimaru-sama want a weakling like him? Why can't we have Sasuke instead?" He held Naruto's arm and lifted him up. "Well, Kimimaro would've been a better choice. He doesn't need Sasuke or Naruto. Well, as long as you stay in this shitty village, you'll be no different from an average person. You won't get any stronger."

Naruto frowned, _'Why? I'm sure that I landed some blows on him. Yet it seems like he didn't take any damage.'_

Sakon chuckled, "If you continue playing ninja games with your buddies, you'll just rot."

Then Tayuya landed on the floor and said, "Come with us. That way… Orochimaru-sama will give you powers."

"It's pointless if we force you to come. You must decide. Orochimaru-sama sure gave us a troublesome job. So, what's it gonna to be? You comin'? Or not?!" asked Sakon, throwing Naruto against the wall." Then the Sound Four walked to him. "Make it clear. I feel like killing this weakling for being so hesitant."

Suddenly, the curse mark began to come across Naruto's face face and arms. He snarled, "Try it!" Even his eyes turned into the red. But for some reason, the curse mark took over the Kyubi. Apparently, the curse mark was currently stronger than the Kyubi.

Sakon shocked, "You're… Releasing the cursed seal?"

Naruto shouted angrily, "I'm gonna kill you!" Then he charged towards them and tried to attack them, but Sakon knocked him against the wall again. Then he looked up at Sakon and noticed a curse mark that came across the face.

Sakon chuckled, "You're not the only one Orochimaru likes. You shouldn't be using the cursed seal so carelessly. By the way, it seems like you can't control the seal. Well, you can't control the Kyubi either. If you stay in the released state for too long, the seal will eventually consume your body. It's like the Kyubi consumes you. But the cursed seal is even worse than that. It seems like you're still in the first stage, so the speed at which it spreads is slow. Once it completely takes over your body, you will lose yourself. Forever." Naruto's curse mark reverted back to normal, so did his eyes.

Tayuya sighed, "In return for gaining power through the cursed seal, you will be under Orochimaru-sama's control. We have no freedom. In order to gain something, you must throw something away."

Sakon sighed, "What is your purpose? Is it to stay in this hateful village and continued to be hated by those villagers? And then forget everything… about destroying Konoha?" Naruto widened his eyes in shocked. "Don't forget what your purpose is. This village is nothing more than a shackle. You should just break such worthless bonds. That way… you will be able to gain an even greater power. Don't forget your purpose!" Then the Sound Four suddenly jumped and disappeared.

Naruto stared at his own hand for a while. Suddenly, he saw a bunch of villagers glaring down at him. He clenched his fists and growled, "Dammit!"

* * *

(Naruto's Apartment)

Naruto stared at his team's picture. In the picture, Naruto glared at Sasuke angrily, while Sakura was in front happily. Sasuke simply folded his arms, and looked like he did not care for the picture. Kakashi's hands were on Sasuke and Naruto's head and smiled at the picture. Naruto already put his backpack on. Sighing, he put the picture down on the table.

* * *

(With Sakura)

Sakura cupped her mouth and cried, "Naruto! Where are you?! I need to talk to you about Sasuke!"

She folded her arms and scowled, "Where is Naruto?! It's really important!" Then she smiled, "I know! I'd bet he's at Ramen. It's his usual time after all." Then she ran off to find Naruto, possibly at Ichiraku Ramen.

Finally, she arrived at Ichiraku Ramen, and went into it. She saw old man, and asked, "Hey, Teuchi! Where's Naruto?"

Teuchi frowned, "He didn't come."

Sakura shocked, "What?"

Teuchi sighed, "It's odd. It's his first time that he did not come here at the night. He doesn't have mission right?"

Sakura widened her eyes and shocked, _'What does that mean? That can't be. Why do I have a feeling? Did that Sasuke really change Naruto this much? No, I better check him out!' _Then she immediately ran off.

Teuchi cried, "Wait, Sakura!" But Sakura did not listen and still ran off. He puzzled, "I wonder what's going on with her?"

* * *

(With Naruto)

Naruto walked down the path, but he noticed that Sakura stepped in front of him. He stopped walking and stared at her. He sighed, "What are you doing… wandering around here at the night?"

Sakura frowned, "Because in order to get out of the village, you have to take this road."

Naruto sighed, "Go home and sleep, Sakura-chan." Once again, he walked past her.

Sakura sniffed, "Why?" Then she looked around at Naruto, and asked, "Why won't you tell me anything? You usually tell me what's wrong, Naruto. What happened to you? You used to be happy. Now you're sad. Did Sasuke-kun do this to you? If so, then I apologize for his awful behavior! But that's how he is!"

Again, Naruto stopped walking and snarled, "So, you're all about Sasuke-kun! That and this! Get over this! He didn't do shit to me! If you want me to tell you, then why not you come with me, Sakura-chan? If not, then you can shut up and leave me alone!"

Sakura chuckled, "You've always loved me, huh? Do you remember… the day we became Genin and when our three-member team was first chosen? The day you were happy that I was in your team, you always want me to come with you to the date, but I turned you down, remember?"

Naruto sighed, "I don't care about that."

Sakura shocked, "But I haven't told you something. That's something I have been hiding from you. I really love you, Naruto-kun! But I'm afraid to tell you that I really love you! But that's the day when everything started… You and I… And also Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei. The four of us completed a number of missions together. They were tough and a lot of work, but… Above all… It was fun! Then there's when I started to love you! But I thought you wanted to become Hokage someday! But if you leave this village, nobody will be happy about you! Not even Sasuke-kun will! Neither you… nor I." Then the cloud shadowed over them.

Naruto scoffed, "Just as I thought. I'm different from you guys. I walk a different path than you guys. I tried to think that it was my path to do the things we've done up until now. The four of us did things together, but my heart decided on revenge in the end. I was just merely using you guys in order to gain your respect! That's my purpose in life. I can't become like you or Sasuke."

Sakura cried, "Are you going to choose to be alone again?! On that day, you said you will make everyone in this village recognize you when you become Hokage! I understand how you feel when the villagers glared at you. I have a family, and I have friends, but if you're gone… To me… it'll be the same as being alone! From now on… A new path will open for all of us. I…! I love you so much! If you stay with me, I'll make sure you won't regret it! Every day will be fun. We'll definitely be happy. I'll do anything for you. So… Please! Stay here! I'll help you to become Hokage! I'll do something! So please stay here… with me!" The cloud finally gone as the moon shined on them. "If you can't stay, take me with you."

Naruto glared at Sakura and scowled, "Now I understand how Sasuke feels about you! You really are annoying! Don't sprouting that bullshit confession about me! I know you're lying! You don't really love me! You only want me to stay so I won't be in trouble! I know you still love Sasuke!" Then he sighed before walking off again.

Sakura cried, "Don't leave! If you do, I'll scream!" Suddenly, Naruto disappeared, causing her to shock.

Naruto smiled, "Sakura-chan… Thank you." Suddenly, he chopped her neck, putting her to sleep.

Sakura went to fall asleep and sniffed, _'Naruto…' _Naruto put her on the bench to sleep, and walked away to leave the village.

Naruto finally came out of the village and walked outside. Suddenly, he heard the voice chuckled, "We've been waiting, Naruto-sama."

Naruto looked at them and asked, "What're you plotting now?" He saw that the Sound Four kneeled before him.

Sakon explained, "When you left the village, it was decided that you become our leader. Please forgive our rudeness earlier." They bowed before Naruto.

Naruto chuckled, "Apparently, I'm leader? Well, I'm satisfied as long as I'm the leader." Then he walked past them, and sighed, "I forgive you. Let's go. It's time for me to start my true mission."

* * *

(Next Morning)

"It's four in the morning. The Godaime really abuses her people. She could have gotten the documents she left behind herself," complained the first Chuunin. Apparently, they carried a full of books. But they stopped because they saw that Sakura was sleeping on the bench.

Another Chuunin confused, "What's wrong?"

First Chuunin walked to her and said, "Hey, wake up. If you sleep here, you'll catch a cold."

Sakura slowly opened her eyes and remembered that Naruto left the village. She shocked, "Naruto!" She was really upset that she lost her good friend.

* * *

(At Hokage's Mansion)

A blonde-haired woman let her face down on the table and slept there. Suddenly, she heard the door creaked open. She immediately woke up and saw two Chuuninsthat entered the door. She chuckled nervously, "Thank you."

First Chuunin noticed that Tsunade was drooling and had a print mark on her cheek, and shocked, "Godaime! You were sleeping just now, weren't you?! While making us get these documents, you were sleeping, weren't you?!"

Second Chuunin sighed, "More importantly, Hokage-sama, there's something we need to report."

Tsunade confused, "What?" For a few minute, she was in shocked to hear the news. "What did you say?! Is this true?"

First chunin nodded, "Yes."

"According to Haruno Sakura, there's no mistake," explained second Chuunin.

Tsunade bared her teeth and thought, _'Why? Why did Naruto leave this village? Then again… Orochimaru told me about something…' _

"_I get what I want, and this time, I'll control someone to completely destroy Konoha. I will have that demon to destroy the village," _said Orochimaru in Tsunade's mind.

At first, she thought Orochimaru wanted Sasuke. But instead, Orochimaru wanted Naruto for some reason. _'So you wanted to use the Kyubi to destroy Konoha? That twisted freak.' _She sat down on her chair, and sighed, "Izumo. Kotetsu. There's someone I want you to go get for me."

* * *

(Later)

A young ponytail haired boy was in shocked to hear such news! Tsunade sighed, "Shikamaru, late last night, Uzumaki Naruto left the village. And there's no mistake that he is heading for the Sound Village."

Shikamaru shocked, "Left? Why?"

"Orochimaru lured him," answered Tsunade.

"Wait a second! What does a dangerous guy like him want with Naruto?" asked Shikamaru. "Besides, I know Naruto! He will never accept an invitation from the likes of Orochimaru!"

Tsunade sighed, "That's not important. We don't have any time to lose. I'm sure you will figure it out why Naruto left this village. I honestly don't know why. For now, I'm assigning you your first mission as a Chuunin."

"Is it to bring Naruto back?" asked Shikamaru. Then he thought, _'As long as there are no enemies, it won't be too troublesome.' _

Tsunade nodded, "Yeah. However, this mission must be completed quickly, and there could be some trouble."

Shikamaru widened his eyes and shocked, "What?"

"There is a high possibility that Orochimaru's subordinates are guiding Naruto," explained Tsunade.

Shikamaru thought, _'This has turned into a troublesome situation. But that guy… I've always thought he was not kind of that person who would go for awful purpose. What's going on?' _He sighed, "So for this mission, I need a squad of four comprised of Jounins or Chuunins."

Tsunade frowned, "I cannot give you that."

Shikamaru shocked, "Why?!"

"You should know. Besides the Jounins that must stay, most are away from the village on missions. In the next thirty minutes, gather as many exceptional Genins as you can, then set off on your mission," said Tsunade.

Shikamaru walked to the door and sighed, "It's troublesome, but I can't just let this go since he's someone I know." Then he glanced over his shoulder at Tsunade and smiled, "Well, I'll do what I can."

Tsunade looked at Shikamaru and smiled, "There's one person I would like to recommend. He will be responsible for Naruto's missing."

* * *

(Sasuke's House)

Outside the door, Sasuke widened his eyes and shocked, "What?! What did you say?!"

Shikamaru sighed, "I will explain it to you later." Then he thought, _'Why does Hokage-sama want him to be part of my squad? How troublesome…' _

Sasuke clenched his fists and thought angrily, _'Damn him. Why did he accept the invitation?! If I never got mad at him, then it would never happen to him! It's my fault!' _Then he stared at Shikamaru and sighed, "I will be here in a minute." Then he went into his room to change some.

* * *

(Later)

Sasuke and Shikamaru ran down the road. "So, have you chosen other exceptional people besides me?"

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah." Finally, they arrived at someone's house and knocked the door. "Wake up, man."

Sasuke sighed, "You said exceptional, didn't you?"

Shikamaru sighed, "It can't be helped." Then he sat down on the ground, and opened the potato chips bag.

Sasuke folded his arms and scoffed, "Potato chips? Why are you eating this at this time?"

Shikamaru nodded, "They're BBQ flavor. You help out, too."

"No, I don't want to eat," denied Sasuke.

"Well, if you want to make it faster, then just help out," said Shikamaru.

Sasuke sighed, "Fine." Then Shikamaru and he began to eat chips.

Finally, Shikamaru dropped the last chip, and said, "He's coming."

Suddenly, the fatso boy came to grab the chip and growled, "I won't let another soul have the last potato chip!"

Sasuke twitched his eyes, and thought, _'He's the exceptional guy?!'_

Shikamaru sighed, "I've teamed up with Chouji for quite a while. We work well together."

"I don't care! You should ask someone that is more suitable to this mission instead of him! Let's say someone like Shino!" scowled Sasuke.

Sasuke sighed, "How troublesome."

Suddenly, the small white dog jumped towards Chouji. Chouji glared at the dog and shouted, "Not good enough!" He ate the chip before the dog could eat. The dog was really sad.

The boy with the red painted on his cheeks, and chuckled, "Shino isn't here because he's on a special mission with his dad."

"Yet, another useless?" asked Sasuke.

Shikamaru smiled, "Okay, it's decided."

Sasuke nodded, "I knew it! You choose Kiba! Another useless!" The white dog growled at Sasuke.

Once ready, they ran down the road. Kiba shocked, "What?! Naruto left this village?"

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah."

Suddenly, Kiba chuckled, "I see. Sounds fun! Rescuing our good friends should be fun! Looks like it was well worth waking up early for a walk."

"Hey, Shikamaru. What about the others?" asked Sasuke coolly.

Shikamaru looked at Sasuke and smiled, "I want to take my time to look around for more, but we're running out of time. If I can't find anybody by the time we reach the village gate, then this will be it." Then they saw a long-haired boy with a strange eyes talking with boy in green jumpsuit.

A few of explanation, a long-haired boy nodded, "I see."

Shikamaru sighed, "It's troublesome, but there's nothing bad about having more people."

The boy in green jumpsuit who had his arms around long-haired boy to support him to stand, and frowned, _'Naruto…' _

The long haired boy looked at the boy in green jumpsuit and sighed, "Lee. You do what you need to do."

Suddenly, Lee put his crutches to support himself and walked slowly to the stair. He declared, "Starting tomorrow, I will climb up these stairs on my own."

The long haired boy said softly, "Lee."

Lee glanced over his shoulder at them and smiled, "Neji, don't worry. Please go."

They finally arrived at the gate, after gathering members with him. The gate finally opened. "Time's up," said Shikamaru. They were ready to rescue Naruto back to Konoha. "At least we have five people.

Sasuke frowned, "It's my fault."

Shikamaru sighed, "It's not your fault. It is troublesome though."

Sasuke fell to his knees and continued, "It's my fault! I told him to fight me. But I did not know that I could change him! It's all because of me, he left this village!" He punched on the ground and scowled, "If I didn't force him to fight me, then that would never happen!"

"Sasuke! Are you going to take blame just because you did to Naruto?! No, you haven't done wrong to him! For whatsoever reason, he left the village thanks to Orochimaru! We don't know what he will plan to do!" explained Shikamaru. "Even as his childhood friend, I still don't know! Right, Kiba, Chouji?!" Kiba and Chouji nodded in agreement with him. But Sasuke did not listen to him and still thought that it was his fault.

Neji sighed, "Never mind. Let's get down to it. Tell us your strategies and plans. According to what you said, it is highly probable that our enemies could ambush us."

Shikamaru chuckled, "For now, think of us as the pursuers, since this is a rescue mission. In other words, it will be easy for the enemy to ambush us." Then he looked around them and continued, "So right now, I want a formation that can react immediately to an enemy attack. If you ignore my orders and go off on your own, we will all die!" Kiba gulped in fear. "We'll move in a single line formation. The most important position of forward scouting will be… You, Kiba. You walk Akamaru all the time, so you know the terrain of the Fire territory. Also, since you've got a good sense of smell, not only can you track Sasuke, you can also detect the booby traps by detecting the enemy's scent. The single line formation is weak against a frontal attack, but you have Akamaru to compensate for this, so it's more efficient having you up front.

"Next is me, the squad leader. Being behind Kiba, I will be able to give orders based on the situations that unfold. Also, I can order the rest of you behind us with hand singals. Next is the center; third position is Sasuke. You have quick reaction, so you're able to cover the front and back right away. As the center position, you are the important backup man. You've also got Sharingan. You should be able to warn us if someone is going to ambush us.

"Now the fourth position is you, Chouji. You don't have much speed, but you pack the biggest wallop in the squad. Kiba, me, and Sasuke will be in front of you, and we will use you finish off the enemy after the surprise attack. Meaning you're the final blow. The last position is you, Neji. I'm going to have you handle the most difficult job as the rear lookout. With Byakugan, you can check to make sure there are no blind spots in the line."

Shikamaru kneeled, and opened the scroll. He continued, "Listen up, and examine this carefully." He scratched the pencil on the scroll. "Look at your appointed scouting area depicted in this drawing. Kiba will watch up front. I will also be looking out in front, but in a wider scope. Sasuke is left. Chouji is right. Neji, you use your byakugan for the entire roar area." He rolled the scroll back on, and looked up at them. "Also, I want to know what our current battle strength is. Let me check all of your equipment right now. I'll keep what you have in mind. Any questions?" Nobody responded.

Lee stared at Shikamaru and smiled, _'With the members he got in such a short time, he thought of a perfect formation so quickly.' _

Shikamaru sighed, "If not, let me say one last thing… This is the most important thing. Naruto is a close friend of mine. I want to get him back no matter what! But if I'm ordered to kill Naruto, then I have to do, even if I don't want to. But I'm relieved that Hokage-sama ordered us to bring Naruto back. He is our comrade. That is why we will put our lives on the line to bring him back. This is the way of the Konoha. It's damn troublesome, even for me, so it's hard to want to do it… but I'm responsible for all of you."

Kiba chuckled, "Now you sound like a Chuunin."

Neji nodded, "Well then, as soon as we finish checking our equipment, we leave. Everyone, take out your equipment." Then everyone showed their equipment to Neji.

Sasuke thought angrily, _'Naruto wouldn't take on that freaky's invitation! He doesn't need to do that since he's really strong. Not to mention he wanted to become Hokage! I guarantee it! Damn it! I will be responsible to bring him back! It's my fault! Why, Naruto?!' _

Neji nodded, "Okay, let's go."

Just as they were about to leave, they suddenly heard the voice cried, "Wait!" They looked around only to found Sakura behind them.

Sasuke shocked, "Sakura."

"I already heard about it from Hokage-sama," said Sakura.

Shikamaru sighed, "Sorry, but I can't take you on this mission. Not even you were able to convince Naruto, right? With your false confession, right?"

Sasuke widened his eyes and shocked, _'What? She falsely confessed her love to Naruto? That idiot! That only made worse!' _

"So there's no choice but for us to use force to persuade him to come back with us. Sakura. Your job is done," said Shikamaru.

"Wait! Did you talk to Naruto?! Did you make a false confession to him?!" asked Sasuke. Sakura began to frown.

'_Sakura-san,' _thought Lee.

Sakura frowned, "Sasuke-kun… This is the only favor I will ever ask of you… Bring… Bring Naruto back. I couldn't convince him. I couldn't stop him. I have made many attempts to convience him… that you only got mad, and did not meant to. But it didn't work out… He's our good friend, and our comrades. Without Naruto, there wouldn't be fun! I'm sure the only person who can stop him… the only person who can save him is… Sasuke-kun… Only you!"

Sasuke sighed, "But it's my fault! It's because of me, he left this village! If it never happened that way, he would never leave the village!"

Sakura looked at Sasuke and sighed, "Sasuke-kun… That's not true… It's not your fault…"

Sasuke shocked, "What? What do you mean it's not my fault?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah, that's what he told me. It's not your fault… He made that decision on his own accords… So… Please… Save Naruto!"

Sasuke was in shocked at first, but then he chuckled, "So you're better friend to him than I am, Sakura. I can understand very well the pain that you are going through. It's because Naruto and I have went through all the pain. Now it's your turn to understand the pain. You probably couldn't imagine if it was me instead of him. If it was me, you would have been in very pain worse than in this state you're now."

Sakura smiled, "Sasuke-kun… Thank you."

Sasuke looked around at the outside of Konoha, and sighed, "I will bring Naruto back. I don't know if I can promise this, but I will try my best to bring him back!" Suddenly, Sasuke gave her a thumb-up.

Sakura sniffed, _'This is the first time you understood me. This is the first time you helped me.' _

Kiba walked to him and chuckled, "Hey, hey, Sasuke. You sure you're okay saying that… and posing like Naruto?"

Sasuke realized that he gave her a thumb-up. He began to blush in embarrassment. He turned around and scowled, "Shut up! Let's go!"

Shikamaru sighed, "We just lost some time. Let's hurry up." Then they left the Konoha in order to rescue Naruto back.

Lee smiled, "Sasuke-kun said it with the 'nice guy' pose. Everything is fine, now. It'll be all right. No doubt about it." He gave her a thumb-up and smiled. They watched them walking away.

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: Well, I changed Sasuke's personality a little. He is willing to give up on his revenge just to bring Naruto back. And what if Iruka said, "I hate Naruto..." and that stuff. Then I made Naruto like this. I hope you like this chapter. It's long first chapter. But later chapters, it will be usually 5k words. This is just first chapter. For now, I will be working on Team Z to finish the current Saga/Arc. After that, I will choose which story I will be writing next. However, if this doesn't get review, then I will not be able to write this story more.

If you got suggestion what I should make to improve this story, then please tell me. Any question? Tell me please.

Read and reviews as always! Thank you! I'm out! :D


	2. Naruto Retrieval Mission Begins!

A/N: Hello! Sorry, I made you waiting so long, but here's another chapter! :D

Disclaimer: I just found someone who wants to say disclaimer. Yes, I'm at Konoha, but here's Sakura!

Sakura: Thank you. He doesn't own Naruto! Oh, Naruto! Why did he have to leave? (sobs) He's my good friend! I don't know what's wrong with him! (sobs and ran away)

Me: (scratch my head) Huh? Okay... Anyways, enjoy the chapter! Oh, yeah, before you start reading, I want to tell you. This story is heavily focus on Naruto and Sasuke. I will said more at the end of this chapter. ENJOY!

* * *

**Chapter 2: Naruto Retrieval Mission Begins!**

* * *

(With Naruto- Elsewhere)

Naruto, and the Sound Four landed on the forest floor. "Naruto-sama, will this area do? We have already left Konoha." asked Sakon.

"What is it?" asked Naruto.

"Well, there is an important message from Orochimaru," said Sakon.

"Whatever. Just hurry up and tell me!" demanded Naruto. He was not sure why all of them smirked at him like that. He did not like this a bit.

Sakon chuckled, "I have been asked to tell you, you must die once."

Naruto widened his eyes and confused, "What? Die once?"

As the leaf swirled down to the ground, Sakon picked something from his pocket. He showed a capsule to Naruto and replied, "Enhancement pills. You will need to take these."

"Enhancement pills? What are they?" confused Naruto.

"Your curse seal is at level one. That pill will forcibly increase your curse seal to level two," said Tayuya.

"But at level two, the speed at which the seal invades your body will rapidly increase. In that case, you would die immediately. In order to control stage two, your body must get accustomed to it over a period of time. If you do that, you will be… You will probably be able to obtain the same level of power as us. But after the change, it will only be a short time until you die," explained Sakon.

Naruto was in shocked after hearing from Sakon that he would die. He was not sure, but he had to ask anyways. "After I die, what will happen?"

Sakon shrugged, "There is no need to worry. That is why we are here." He walked to Naruto and gave the enhancement pills to him. "With our shield techniques, we will block the side effects. Instead of dying, you will receive the power and be placed in a temporary coma."

Naruto stared up at Sakon and asked, "I have a few question. Can I trust your so-called 'shield techniques'?"

Kidoumaru nodded, "Yes, Naruto-sama. We are Orochimaru-sama's elite guard. Shields, defense ninjutsu and seal ninjutsu are our forte."

Naruto stared down at enchantment pills, and sighed, "I got a last question for you. What will happen to the Kyubi inside me? If I die, will he die too?"

Sakon smirked, "Don't worry. We will take care of everything."

Naruto opened the capsule's cap and sighed, "No matter what happens, I can't die yet." He thought about destroying Konoha. He refused to die until he destroyed Konoha first. He dropped a mere one pill on his hand. "I leave it to you." Sakon simply nodded at him. He sighed before swallowing a pill into his mouth. For a few second later, he suddenly deeply pain in his chest, as he fell to his knees, and screamed in the pain.

Then Sakon opened the scroll, and looked up at his comrades. "You guys had better pull this off or Naruto-sama will be pissed." He slammed his hand on the seal in the scroll. Suddenly, a large barrel appeared in front of Sakon. Then, Kiroubou put Sasuke in the barrel. "Back to your position." Then he jumped back and made a hand seal. He shouted, "Begin!"

Rest of the Sound Four made a hand seal, and raised their hands together. They released the weird purple chakra out of their hand and emerged together above the basket. It was almost as if it turned into purple smoke or something. They waved their arms down, and shouted together, **"Shikokumujin! (Four Seals of the Dark Mist)" **

A dark purple mist came down into the basket. After that, Sakon bit his own thumb and wrote kanji with his blood on the small paper. Then he threw them, and attached them to the barrel. He clasped his hand together and shouted, **"Fuukoku houin!" **He chuckled, "Alright. Step one done."

* * *

(With Naruto Retrieval Team)

While Sasuke and others hopped on every branch forward, the dog inside Kiba's coat whimpered to Kiba. Kiba cried, "Shikamaru!"

"What's wrong?" asked Shikamaru.

Kiba replied, "Nearby… It's the smell of blood… The scents from those five, including Naruto, and two others have clashed. But the smell from those five is getting further away from the bloodshed." He glanced over his shoulder at Shikamaru and asked, "What should we do?"

Shikamaru nodded, "As I thought. They are guiding Naruto. This is most troublesome."

"It doesn't matter, let's hurry and catch up to Naruto," reminded Sasuke.

Kiba scowled, "Shut up, Sasuke. Only Shikamaru decides those kinds of things. Quit barking out orders! Just because you're from Uchiha Clan doesn't mean you can give us an order!"

Sasuke growled, "What?!"

"Shikamaru," said Chouji. He wanted Shikamaru to continue.

"The smell of blood probably means that there has been a fight. If we head there, we might be able to get some information. We can't approach carelessly. We have to switch back to a reconnaissance pattern, and we will have to take it slow," explained Shikamaru.

"And while we do that, Naruto will pass across the Fire Country's border," reminded Neji.

"What are you going to do, Shikamaru?" asked Sasuke.

"Alright, we will follow Naruto!" decided Shikamaru. Sasuke simply nodded in agreement with him. He glanced over his shoulder at Sasuke and continued, "However… If there was a fight that means that the enemy's guard will be up. So, of course, those guys will be prepared for people chasing after them. That means there is a good chance that a trap is waiting for us. Listen up. Use your defensive and offensive capabilities fully. We have to find them before they can prepare for us. And if you find anything suspicious, don't simply avoid it, dismantle it."

Sasuke scoffed, "That should be no problem. When I find them, I will kill them! I will bring Naruto back!"

Kiba stared at Sasuke and thought, _'Dammit… I wish it would be Sasuke instead of Naruto. We're better off without Sasuke. Then again, I wonder if Naruto got new technique or something. If he doesn't, I am definitely catching up to him.' _Suddenly, the dog and he smelled something funny. "Hey, this place reeks of the enemy!"

"Everyone stop!" ordered Shikamaru. Finally, they stopped jumping and landed on the branch for a cautious. He looked up and said, "Look carefully, up there." Everyone looked up, and spotted a paper on the tree over there. "It's an explosive note."

"There should be more of them. This pattern creates an explosive field barrier," explained Neji.

Chouji stared at Neji and asked curiously, "Explosive field barrier?"

"A kind of ninja trap. The trap is activated when a person enters the field. It then explodes after a short time. It was in one of my dad's books," explained Shikamaru.

Kiba sighed, "Geez, looks like we will have to take the long way around."

"Quit your complaining, Kiba. We got no choice but to take the long way around, anyways," said Sasuke.

Frustrated, Kiba pointed at Sasuke and shouted angrily, "Keep your mouth shut! I don't like you at all! I'm going to beat you up if you don't shut up!"

Sasuke scoffed, "Say the guy who lost to Naruto at the exam."

Kiba clenched his fist and snarled, "Damn you!"

Sasuke looked up at the sky, and sighed, "But we don't have much time. We have to hurry up and get Naruto before they come across the border of Fire Country." He continued to watch the sky wondering how to get Naruto back. He could not imagine if he would fight Naruto again somewhere.

They had to be careful and wandered through the forest in order to avoid the trap. "Geez, it's one big trap," complained Kiba. They carefully stepped over the wires without tripping them or touching them.

"Yeah," agreed Shikamaru. "But the enemy doesn't have that much time. There seems to be some shoddy work in these traps." They casually walked forward at the same time they carefully stepped over the wires.

However, Kiba noticed that Sasuke was spacing out. He sighed, "Hey, hey, Sasuke! There are wires around your feet! Don't get caught!"

Sasuke scowled, "Shut up! I know! Don't tell me what to do!" However, he did not notice that there was an invisible wire an inch next to wire. He was about to step on.

Shikamaru widened his eyes and cried, "Wait, Sasuke!" Sasuke widened his eyes in shocked, but he could not stop.

Suddenly, his feet stopped itself. _'W-What?! Is this…?' _thought Sasuke.

Luckily, Shikamaru managed to stop by using a shadow that connected to Sasuke's foot. He was holding Chouji's scarf in order to not fall. He sighed, **"Kage Mane no Jutsu. **Somehow I managed in time…"

"Sasuke! What's wrong with you?! This isn't like you! Aren't you supposed to be number one Rookie ninja in this year?!" scowled Kiba.

Sasuke fell backward on the ground and frowned, "I don't know… I can't stop think about Naruto. I still wanted to know why he betrayed Konoha." He thumped his fists on the ground repeatedly. "He had his dream! He wanted to be Hokage! Why choose to betray Konoha?! It could've been better if it was me instead of him! Then he could be Hokage someday! But he betrayed it! Now he couldn't become Hokage anymore!" He then shredded his tear from his eyes.

Shikamaru kneeled next to invisible wire, and sighed, "No, Sasuke. It would be better if Naruto and you never betray Konoha. But… as for Naruto, he has changed a lot. He's not Naruto we knew anymore. He probably got tired of Konoha that treated him that way… Well, it's possible that the reason he left the village. But I'm not sure. Not yet."

Sasuke pulled himself up and nodded, "You're right." He stared at his right fist. "I'm going to find out why he betrayed the village. I'm going to bring him back to Konoha no matter what, even if it's cost my life!"

Shikamaru smiled, "Yes, that will do!" Suddenly, he noticed that there was a wire that reflected the sunlight or something. "I see. One of the wires is easily seen when it reflects the sunlight. But the other one is painted with something green."

"It's pretty hard to see that without the byakugan. It's a double layer trap," admitted Neji.

"Even though they are hurrying, they sure put a lot of traps," said Shikamaru. "That means that…"

'… they are resting," finished Neji. "Are they really taking a break? Or is it a trap?" Then he formed a ram seal, and shouted, **"Byakugan!" **His eyes suddenly turned into a ferocious. From very far distance, he saw the Sound Four resting over there. "I found them!"

"All right! Let's go! I'm going to bring back Naruto!" declared Sasuke.

Kiba chuckled, "Sorry Sasuke, but this time it's my turn to demonstrate my new technique."

Chouji nodded, "Me too."

"Don't hurry. Until my plan is worked out, we will not engage!" ordered Shikamaru. All of them went on their knees and began to discuss how to ambush the Sound Four. "Kiba, don't mistime the smoke bomb."

Kiba nodded, "Yeah."

"We will split into two groups," said Shikamaru. They split up and sneak around inside the bushes, so they could ambush them.

Shikamaru peeked through the bush and spotted the Sound Four. He narrowed his eyes and thought, _'Seems like they haven't noticed yet.' _Suddenly, he noticed that something was missing. He widened his eyes and shocked, _'Huh? Naruto isn't around.'_

Neji already had Byakugan and said, "Seems like he is in the barrel."

Shikamaru shocked, "Is he dead?"

"There seems to be some kind of barrier around the barrel. It's hard to see through it. I don't think that those guys, who wanted Naruto so badly, would kill him so readily," explained Neji.

"That might be true," agreed Shikamaru. They stared carefully at the Sound Four. However, Sakon suddenly threw the kunai that wrapped an explosive tag around it past them and stabbed into the tree. They noticed that it started to burn. They panicked, so they had to get out before the explosion.

**BOOOOM! **

Shikamaru and Neji fell backward as they bit through the dirt. Then they pulled themselves up and realized that the Sound Four stood right in front of them.

"What's this? I thought they were snakes, but they were nothing more than insects," said Sakon. Kiroubou was really ready to kill Shikamaru and Neji.

Shikamaru waved them off, "Wait, wait! We aren't here to fight. Rather, we're here to negotiate."

Kidoumaru smirked, "Then what are these?!" Suddenly, he threw his own web around, revealing Sasuke, Kiba, and Chouji. But Kiba managed to throw smoke bomb, erupting up the purple smoke. "What was the point of that smoke bomb? You can't escape from me! These are better than wires. They are thinner, more durable, and almost impossible to see. I'll be able to take care of you guys with this wire."

Sasuke, Kiba, and Chouji fell on their butt, thanks to Kidoumaru throwing them like a rag doll. Kiba gulped, "Shit!"

Sasuke groaned, "Dammit!"

"That trap with two kinds of wires put in intentionally… A three layer trap…?" realized Shikamaru. "This is bad. Who would expect there would be someone with such abilities?"

Kidoumaru chuckled, "I will deal with you bastards." Just as he was about to move forward, he could not move for some reason. He widened his eyes and shocked, "What is this? My body can't…" He struggled to move, but he could not for some reason.

Sasuke chuckled, "I see. That's nice move, Kiba, Shikamaru!"

It revealed that Shikamaru made his trademark technique where his shadow immobilized the Sound Four. He smirked, "Kagemane no Jutsu has succeeded! But there are also people with this kind of ability. Thank you very much for falling into our trap."

Sakon chuckled, "This could be bad. However, I have this kind of ability."

Shikamaru scoffed, "Is that so?" Suddenly, he spotted three shuriken hurling towards him, but he managed to dodge them. Finally the shadows were gone so the Sound Four were free.

Kiroubou smiled, **"Donton Keikkai…" **Then he slammed his hand on the ground, forcing the ground to come up around Sasuke and others. **"Doroudoumu!" **They were trapped inside the large boulder.

Being locked inside the boulder was very difficult to deal with. Shikamaru did not like this a bit. He growled, "Damn it."

Sasuke shocked, "This is…"

"We're in that big guy's prison," replied Shikamaru.

Kiroubou glanced over his shoulder at his comrades and chuckled, "I've got them. You guys want to rest for a while?"

Sakon walked away from him and sighed, "Once you have eaten, hurry and catch up to us." Kidoumaru picked up the barrel and carried it with his four arms. "Hurry up." Then he left Kiroubou to take care of Konoha ninjas.

Inside the boulder, Sasuke snarled, "You bastard! Let me out! Dammit!"

Kiba growled, "Dammit! Sasuke, he's not going to let us out anyways!" He simply rubbed the boulder.

Neji patted on the boulder and said, "From what I see, these are just normal walls made out of dirt."

"It's their technique. There must be a trick behind it," said Shikamaru.

Kiba stood up and sighed, "I don't know what it's all about, but it looks like we'll have to break out."

"It's dangerous to move carelessly, but as you said, to sit around doing nothing is even more dangerous," agreed Shikamaru.

So Kiba began to make his move. Firstly, he bent his body to act like a dog, as he bared its fang. Then he jumped up in the mid-air, and shouted, **"Tsuuga!" **He rapidly spun around into the sky, and attempted to tunnel into the wall so he could break. The dirt erupted up, so they had to block their eyes from it. He made a decent crater on the wall of boulder. Suddenly, the wall healed up for some reason.

Shikamaru widened his eyes and shocked, _'The wall is regenerating…' _

Kiba was not sure what's going on. He pointed at it and puzzled, "Hey…"

"I saw it," said Shikamaru.

Sasuke clenched his fists and thought, _'Dammit! What should I do? How do I break this boulder?' _

"Looks like it is not a normal dirt wall, after all," said Neji. Then he shouted, **"Byakugan!" **His eyes turned into scary eyes again. He began to search inside the boulder further until he found a blue chakra flow. He shocked, "This is…"

"What?! What is it?" asked Shikamaru.

Neji stared at his own hands, and saw that his chakra was running out of his hands. He realized that Kiroubou had been absorbing their chakra since then. "This is bad. Our chakra is slowly being sucked away." Everyone was in shocked.

"Even though I didn't think they would just leave us alone in here," Kiba chuckled, "I didn't expect them to drain our chakra."

Kiroubou's hands were already placed on the boulder, and continued to absorb a lot of chakra from them. He smirked, _'I have eaten quite a lot of chakra. Thank you for the meal.'_

Sasuke, Kiba, Neji, Chouji, and Shikamaru were really exhausted thanks to their chakra being sucked out. Shikamaru bared his teeth and thought angrily, _'I didn't expect to get caught before we even found out the enemies' abilities. I was careless. And also, inside here…' _

Kiba picked up the small pill and complained, "Damn it! There isn't much time. Before my chakra runs out, I will break through!" He glanced over his shoulder at his dog and shouted, "Akamaru!" The small white dog looked up at Kiba and woofed. "The soldier pill." He handed it to Akamaru.

Once Akamaru ate it, suddenly, the dog turned into red. It was almost as if he was a rabid dog right now! He roared angrily.

Kiba took a bite of pills, and chuckled, "Akamaru, use Gijyu Ninpo! And I'll use Gijyu Ninpo too!" He made a ram seal, so Akamaru could change into an identify Kiba. Next, they rotated themselves, and shouted, **"Ga Tsuuga!" **as they spun towards the wall. They smashed every wall hard as they could! They created many craters everywhere! Of course, the dust spammed erupting up as well.

Kiroubou snickered, "There is no point."

Finally, Kiba and Akamaru stopped smashing walls everywhere because they used up a lot of chakra, and were exhausted right now. Of course, the wall was currently regenerating. All of craters on the wall.

Kiba growled, "Damn it, it's repairing itself." He looked down at the floor, and noticed that it was healed too. "Even the floor."

However, Shikamaru, on the other hand, began to figure out how to get out of boulder. He scanned on every wall he could find.

"At this rate, we can't hold on for more than ten minutes. If we lose all our chakra, it's all over!" warned Kiba.

Sasuke decided to test if his technique would work or not. He made Chidori just to test it out. He watched on until it immediately dispersed. He shocked, _'What? In a place that drains chakra, there is no way that I can do something that requires as much as chakra control as Chidori. Dammit!' _

Shikamaru continued to stare at the wall that was being regenerated. He got an idea! He yelled, "Hey! Listen! I want to have a talk with your leader. We will not pursue Naruto. So let us out of here!"

Kiba shocked, "Hey…"

"What're you talking about? Are we going to abandon Naruto?" shocked Sasuke.

Kiroubou snickered, "You guys want your lives, eh? Interesting. But that means that you are traitors. There's no way that I'll let you out."

"Then just one will be fine. Just let me out," begged Shikamaru. Sasuke, and Kiba widened their eyes in shocked. "This fight… is too troublesome."

Kiba growled, "Do you know what you are saying?!"

Shikamaru sighed, "Shut up, Kiba. You are too noisy."

Kiba clenched his fists and snarled, "What did you say?!"

Kiroubou snickered, "Group conflict, eh? Looks like you are the leader, but you want to save your own life. When you are trapped and in real trouble, your true personality appears. A moron like you doesn't deserve to live. You're just a loser."

Chouji bared his teeth and started to get pissed off because Kiroubou continued to insult Shikamaru. He remembered what Shikamaru said back at the Konoha Gate. _"And finally, this is the most important thing that I have to say."_

Kiroubou laughed, "You are giving up chasing Naruto and planning to throw away the lives of your friends? Is that what a chuunin of Konoha is?"

Chouji still remembered what Shikamaru said back at the Konoha Gate. _"Naruto is a close friend of mine. I want to get him back no matter what! But if I'm ordered to kill Naruto, then I have to do, even if I don't want to. But I'm relieved that Hokage-sama ordered us to bring Naruto back. He is our comrade. That is why we will put our lives on the line to bring him back. This is the way of the Konoha."_

Kiroubou blabbered, "People like you should die. I'm not going to let you out."

Sasuke snarled, "Are you telling me this coward is our leader?! Why should we listen to him? He's going to let us down anyways!"

Kiba rolled his eyes over and sighed, "You should know better! He's a coward after all!"

"Everyone! Be quiet for a minute!" demanded Chouji.

Kiba confused, "Chouji?"

Suddenly, Shikamaru went on his knees and placed his fingers together circular. It was almost as if he thought up the strategy. That got Naruto Retrieval Team's attention.

"Now he's speechless." Kiba sighed, "Sheesh. What is he thinking?"

However, Chouji simply ate bag of chips, which annoyed Sasuke. He glared at Chouji and scowled, "You idiot! Why're you eating snacks right now?!"

Kiba looked around at Chouji and explained, "When Chouji gets pissed, he starts eating like a crazy. Sheesh. He's also useless."

Sasuke sighed, "You might say. I guess I got no choice but to do this! I'm going to use my technique!"

Neji sighed, "Don't. The wall is too heavily shielded by the enemy's Chakra. Even if you damage it a little, the wall will be repaired immediately. Meaning… we must have an explosive taijutsu attack in order to break through the wall in one shot. Otherwise, there's no point in attacking."

Kiba stared at Chouji and said, "An explosive attack that is more damaging than mine would be Chouji's." Then he thought, _'But like that…' _

Sasuke snarled, "Damn it! What should we do?"

Finally, Shikamaru opened his eyes and smirked, "Neji. Sorry, but with the rest of your Chakra, can you carefully observe the Chakra of the wall behind you and Chouji."

Neji nodded, "Got it."

Shikamaru got up and sighed, "Chouji. From here on, don't speak too loudly." Then he looked at Kiba and asked, "Kiba, could you hit the wall behind Neji and Chouji again?"

Kiba puzzled, "Okay." He clapped his both hand and chuckled, "I don't know what you want, but I'll go wild again!" With that, he jumped up and shouted, **"Tsuuga!" **as he spun at the wall behind Neji and Chouji. He kept damaging some of walls behind them.

Kiroubou chuckled, "No matter how much you try, it's useless."

Kiba finally finished damaging some of walls, and left multiple craters on the wall. Neji began to scan the wall to find if there's something different. However, he suddenly spotted the crater on the wall. _'I see. There!'_

"Neji. Throw your dagger there as a marker," said Shikamaru. Then he looked at Chouji and asked, "Chouji, are you ready?"

Chouji chuckled, "Okay. Anytime."

Shikamaru smiled, "Good. Let's get this going, then."

"Don't tell me-!" shocked Sasuke.

Neji sighed, "As I said earlier, Chakra is on every surface of this wall. But even for such a wall, there is the possibility that there's a low concentration of Chakra somewhere. That's what Shikamaru guesses."

Sasuke chuckled, "Hmm, I figured it out as much. Earlier, when Kiba and Akamaru attacked the surface of the wall, there were fast repairing areas and slow repairing areas, and Shikamaru noticed them. Right?"

Neji nodded, "That's right." Then he immediately threw the kunai at the crater just as Shikamaru told him to. "So, he thought that the slower repairing spots meant there was a lower concentration of Chakra there. Then Shikamaru spoke to the enemy, in order to confirm his location on the outside. Why? Because he assumed the wall furthest away from the enemy… is the place with the lowest concentration of Chakra. And he wanted to confirm that. " Then he looked at Shikamaru and asked, "Isn't that right?" Shikamaru simply smiled at them.

'_I see. In order to trick the enemy, he had to trick his comrades first. Damn… I didn't notice such a plan behind all that talk,' _thought Kiba.

'_I just realized right after Chouji told us to be quite. But that means Chouji noticed the plan, and ate like crazy in order to recover his Chakra,' _thought Sasuke. Then he glanced over his shoulder at Chouji and thought, _'So this means that these two haven't been teaming up together for so long for nothing.' _He shook his head and smiled, _'Heh, that's clever trick, Shikamaru!' _

"I'm counting on you, Chouji," said Shikamaru.

Chouji nodded, "Yeah!" He made a hand seal, and suddenly billowed his belly up. He shouted, **"Baika no Jutsu! (Double-Size technique) **All right! Here I go!" His arms and legs went into hiding as he released the blue Chakra out. Finally, he hid his head down into his clothes like a turtle to release the blue chakra out. Then, he rolled up into the sky and shouted, **"Nikudan Sensha! (Human Cannon Ball)" **He rolled over and over on the ground towards the wall behind Neji. "Roll, roll, roll, roll, roll, roll!"

He continued to roll against the wall, and attempted to break it. Kiroubou even increased the Chakra in order to prevent Chouji from breaking it. However, Chouji refused to give it in, and continued to roll against the wall. At last, he smashed through the wall as he rolled on!

Kiroubou widened his eyes and shocked, "What?!" He could not believe that Sasuke and others managed to escape from the boulder! The boulder broke down.

Shikamaru chuckled, "Chouji. You really are…" Then he looked down at Chouji and praised, "…the best." Chouji laughed so happy. They set their sight on Kiroubou almost as if they were prepared to fight him together soon…

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: Okay... Just like I said earlier, this story is heavily focusing on Naruto and Sasuke. No, I will not include other members' fighting. I will only include Sasuke's fighting. Also for Sasuke vs Naruto, I will try to come up with the fighting stuff :D...

Also, to me, I feel like this chapter is not great, but again, I'm trying to build story up. There will be some twists in later chapters! :D

ANy question? Ask right away! Read and Review as always! See ya later! :D I"m out!


	3. Trouble With Sound Four!

A/N: Hello, here's another chapter! Enjoy it! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, so don't sue me!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Trouble with Sound Four**

* * *

(With Naruto Retrieval Team)

Jiroubou was really pissed off that Naruto Retrieval Team even managed to get out! The boulder crumbled down, and dissolved. He growled, "You guys were able to escape my barrier."

Shikamaru panted heavily, and sighed, "The only one here is he. Looks like the rest of them went on ahead."

Suddenly, Neji's eyes turned into his Byakugan, and looked around him. He nodded, "Yeah… They're not nearby anymore."

Shikamaru groaned, "Just when we thought we caught up…"

Jiroubou clapped his hands, and snickered, "Well done, everyone… For trash, that is."

Sasuke growled, "What?!"

"Who are you calling trash?!" asked Kiba angrily. He immediately charged along with Sasuke at Jiroubou. "Now that we're out, he's ours!"

"I'll… I'll kill him!" declared Sasuke.

"Both of you! Wait!" demanded Neji. Sasuke and Kiba immediately stopped and glanced over their shoulder. "Fighting him here would be dangerous."

Kiba frowned, "We got out of the barrier! We can take him!" He formed a ram seal, and spun his own body around to create tornado-like. He shouted, **"Tsuuga!" **Just as he was about to hit Jiroubou head-on, he was knocked away by just a mere slap.

Jiroubou stared at rest of Naruto Retrieval Team, and chuckled ,"You are all my meal!"

Kiba got up, and growled, "Damn it."

Jiroubou charged at Kiba, and rammed his shoulder against Kiba. "Shoulder charge!" shouted Jiroubou. That knocked Kiba away.

Sasuke shouted angrily, "You bastard!" He charged towards Jiroubou, and reeled his fist back.

However, Kiroubou shouted, "Knee strike!"

But Sasuke simply smirked, and jumped just to dodge Kiroubou's knee strike. Then, he charged down back at Jiroubou, and attempted to kick him in the head, but only to get caught by Krioubou's hand. "W-What?!"

Jiroubou casually tossed Sasuke next to Shikamaru and others, but Sasuke managed to land, and drifted his feet onto the ground backward. Kiroubou scoffed, "You guys aren't even good enough to be appetizers. Suddenly, he made a hand seal.

"Be careful! Something troublesome will come out again," warned Shikamaru.

Suddenly, Jiroubou slammed his hand on the ground, and pushed the ground towards Kiba and Sasuke. Kiba and Sasuke were forced to jump back. **"Doton Kekkai Doro Doumu! (Earth Barrier Mud Dome)" **

Chouji stepped in front of them, and shouted, **"Nikudan Sensha!" **He hid his head, arms, and legs into his body, and it became ball. But this time, he spun himself around to become tornado, kicking up the dust. Just when the dust cleared, Naruto Team Retrieval disappeared.

Jiroubou sighed, "Useless." He looked around him to find Naruto Retrieval Team.

* * *

(With Naruto Retrieval Team)

Naruto Retrieval Team had to hide a few feet away from Jiroubou at the random place. "We don't have much time. We have to split up into two groups," said Shikamaru.

"Two groups?" wondered Sasuke.

"I see." Neji looked at Jiroubou from few feet away, and said, "Even if it's five against one, he's not an enemy we can defeat quickly after we've lost so much Chakra. The more time wasted here, the more likely Naruto will cross the border. If that happens, then there's nothing we can do. So you're saying to split up into two groups; one group to stop him and one group to pursue Naruto, right?"

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah. You will be the second-in-command, Neji."

Jiroubou finally smirked, and probably found them. Once again, he slammed his hand on the ground, causing a massive creak. Sasuke and others had to escape, allowing themselves to be revealed. He looked around them and chuckled, "Found you."

Shikamaru sighed, "Neji, take Kiba and Chouji and pursue Naruto.

Neji nodded, "Got it."

"Sasuke and I will do something about him," said Shikamaru. He made a hand seal, prepared to do another jutsu.

Jiroubou smirked, "Are you going to use that Kage Shimari thing again? What a worthless technique. It's easy to know how to deal with it after I see it once. And who fell for that street performance earlier?" He noticed that there was a shadow that came for him. But he also knew that there was another shadow from the behind. He slammed his hand on the ground again, but this time, it kicked up the dust.

While the dust was up, Neji had to see with his Byakugan, and stunned, "He disappeared?"

Kiba picked up the scent, and cried, "Behind!" They looked behind him, finding Jiroubou behind them.

But Jiroubou picked up the large boulder which used to be ground. He shouted, **"Doton Doryou Dango! (Earth Move- Mud Ball)"**

Sasuke shocked, "W-What the?!" Jiroubou threw the large boulder at them, but they managed to escape as well.

Yet, there was another earthquake. "Be careful. Another one is coming," warned Shikamaru.

Suddenly, Jiroubou emerged from the underground just to grab Shikamaru's legs, and held him upside down. He laughed, "You're the squad leader, right? It must be tough on the underlings to have such a stupid leader. I'll take care of this stupid squad leader!" He spun Shikamaru's legs around, and threw him at the tree harder.

Jiroubou shouted, **"Baika no Jutsu! Nikudan Sensha!" **Once again, he changed into the ball thingy, and spun on way to stop Shikamaru with his own large belly. Of course, Shikamaru's body bounced off from Chouji's large body.

Shikamaru landed on the ground, and smiled, "Thanks, Chouji."

"What's with you? You wasted my generosity." Jiroubou chuckled, "If the leader is stupid, then the subordinates are trash, huh? Well, for the trash under this gloomy, theater-loving guy, I'll kill you before you can suffer anymore."

Sasuke growled, "Shut up! I'm tired of your bad-mouthing! I will be the one to…"

Chouji suddenly shouted angrily, "Fight you!" He got up, and glared at Jiroubou. "I will fight him!"

"Chouji," shocked Shikamaru.

"What?! Do you think you can take him on alone?!" asked Sasuke.

Chouji growled, "I will fight him!" He picked up the bag from his pocket and gave it to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru. Give these soldier pills to everyone."

Shikamaru frowned, "Chouji… Don't tell you're going to…"

Chouji smiled, "Yes. I have that ready to use."

Shikamaru grabbed the bag, and sighed, "But that's…" Chouji immediately walked toward Jiroubou.

Jiroubou placed his hand on his left hip, and chuckled, "Damn trash. I won't let you do what you want!" Then he charged towards them.

"Here he comes!" cried Sasuke.

Kiroubou laughed, "I'll finish you all right here!"

Chouji appeared in front of them, and demanded, "Go, everyone!" He picked up pills' box up, and opened the green's box.

'_Three colored pills? They're not soldier's pills. What are they?' _confused Kiroubou.

'_First, the green spinach pill,' _thought Chouji. Then he took the green pill and swallowed it.

Jiroubou charged closer and closer to Chouji and demanded, "Move it, trash!" Suddenly, Chouji stopped him by just grappling him. _'Impossible! He stopped me?' _

"Shikamaru. Take everyone and go now!" ordered Chouji.

"Chouji…" worried Shikamaru.

"What was the purpose of this squad? If we lose Naruto now, we will become what he has said…" reminded Chouji.

Jiroubou growled, _'A stupid squad leader and a bunch of trash!' _He struggled to take a control of their grapple.

Shikamaru sighed, "You better catch up afterward, Chouji."

"Yeah. Everyone, go now!" demanded Chouji angrily.

Shikamaru nodded, "All right. Let's go everyone."

Sasuke, Kiba, and Neji nodded, "Yeah." They then hopped on the branch to pursue Naruto.

Shikamaru looked at Chouji and frowned, _'Chouji.' _He caught up to Sasuke, and said, "This is Chouji's parting gift. Eat up." He threw the bag at Sasuke, who caught it.

Sasuke said nothing, but simply ate the pill. Then he shouted, "Kiba! Catch it!" He threw the bag at Kiba, who caught it as well.

Kiba chuckled, "Thanks."

"Shikamaru. The pill Chouji took seemed like some sort of trump card. Is there any chance of him winning?" wondered Neji.

Kiba fed the pill to his dog, and nodded, "He said that, right?"

Shikamaru sighed, "For this mission, he brought the top secret pills of the Akimichi Clan. When you take them, you gain an explosive burst of power. They're the green, yellow, and red-colored pills. In every one of those pills, there is an extremely huge amount of energy."

Sasuke chuckled, "That's why he was so confident. Here I thought he's useless in our group."

'_But pills that contain so much power will always have side effects. If possible, finish the fight with just the green pill. Whatever you do, don't take the red one. Chouji…' _thought Shikamaru.

Suddenly, Kiba noticed that the dog smelled something, and the dog was telling him something. Kiba nodded, "Yeah. I just thought that, too."

"What is that dog saying?" asked Sasuke.

"You know that Akamaru can sense the enemy's powers through smell. He's really worried about whether those pills can really defeat him," explained Kiba.

"That's true." Neji admitted, "If you think about it rationally, that big guy's power is unknown. The possibility of Chouji defeating him on his own could be zero. But… That's what a battle is all about."

"Just as Neji said, that's what a battle is," agreed Shikamaru. "This mission was never a game. Lives are on the line. I had imagined a worst case scenario where everyone is separated and must fight alone. And right now, if we're not prepared to fight and win in a one-on-one situation, we won't reach Naruto." Then he chuckled, "Chouji is a good guy, but he lacks self confidence. He thinks he's the weakest in our group."

Kiba nodded, "But it's true that he's weak. Everyone knows that. That's probably why he stayed behind to try and help us."

Shikamaru smirked, "Just as I thought. Everyone thinks that way, huh? But I know… More than Neji, me, or anyone here… He's strong…"

* * *

(Later)

Shikamaru stopped on the floor, and marked the tree with his kunai. "We made a promise." He smiled, "He will defeat the enemy. He will definitely catch up with us."

Sasuke shrugged, "Yeah…"

Kiba chuckled, "That's right. He can do it if he wants to." Akamaru barked in agreement with him. Sasuke and Kiba decided to mark the tree as well.

"Listen, everyone. We're going to get Naruto before Chouji catches up with us," said Shikamaru. Then he immediately jumped on the branch, with everyone following him.

On few kilometers later, they had to stop again in order to mark the tree, so Chouji could catch up to them. _'You better not die, Chouji,' _pleaded Shikamaru. Once again, they hopped on the branch. _'Ever since that day, we always did things together.' _He remembered the first time he met Chouji and became friend with him. _'We're going to do things together from now on, too. Chouji.' _

They continued to hop on the branch on way to catch Naruto. However, Shikamaru spotted a blue butterfly that flew past him. He glanced over his shoulder at the butterfly that flew past them.

Sasuke could not help but noticed that Shikamaru looked worried. "What's wrong?"

Shikamaru frowned, "Nothing…"

Akamaru picked up the scent and told Kiba something. "They're close," said Kiba.

Neji suddenly turned his eyes into Byaukgan, and saw very far, far away from him. "That's strange… I haven't seen a single trap. Shikamaru. What do you think of this?" asked Neji.

Shikamaru sighed, "They're underestimating us. The only person they think is catching up to them is that big guy. They wouldn't set traps for their comrade."

Sasuke growled, "Damn them! They're taking us lightly!"

"I think you're right." Neji agreed, "Indeed. We've been completely underestimated. However, this is our chance."

"Yeah. We will take them by surprise," said Shikamaru.

* * *

(With Sound Four)

Sakon, Tayuya, and Kidoumaru hopped on the branch on way to Orochimaru's hideout, while Kidoumaru carried the barrel. Sakon glanced over his shoulder and sighed, "Jiroubou is late."

Kidoumaru chuckled, "No. He's here." Suddenly, Jiroubou finally caught up to them.

"Sheesh. What took you so long?" asked Sakon.

"Sorry. It took time to suck up the Chakra of those piece of trash," replied Jiroubou.

Tayuya growled, "You fatass. Don't waste time. Hurry up and carry the barrel. That's your job. You piece of shit."

Jiroubou simply replied, "Sure."

"What's with you, Jiroubou? You're too obedient today," wondered Kidoumaru.

Jiroubou confused, "What do you mean?"

Kidoumaru landed on the branch, and chuckled, "I can't hand over the barrel to you… since you're not Jiroubou!" He threw the barrel over to Tayuyua, who caught it. Jiroubou picked up the kunai and jumped towards Kidoumaru. "Let me handle this. Sakon. Tayuyua. You guys go on ahead." Jiroubou tried to stab Kidoumaru, who managed to catch his arms. "Jiroubou always warns Tayuya about her foul mouth."

Jiroubou suddenly changed into Shikamaru and chuckled, "I see." He then kicked Kidoumaru who parried it.

Kidoumaru shouted, **"Ninpou Kumo Shibari! (Ninja Art: Spider Web Bind)" **He spat out the spider bind, pinning Shikamaru against the tree. He smirked at Shikamaru, but he sensed someone that was coming at him.

That was Sasuke who leapt above him, and growled, "Damn you!" He reeled his fists, and was about to bring his fist forward, but Kidoumaru suddenly fell from the branch.

Kidoumaru spat some kind of spider thread or something, and turned it into the ball. Then, he stretched it and shouted, **"Ninpou Kumo Soukai! (Ninja Art: Spider Web Opening)" **Suddenly, the spider thread thingy turned into the spider web.

Sasuke acted faster, and formed a series of hand seal. He shouted, **"Katon: Gokayku no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)" **He expelled from the mouth as a massive orb of roaring flame at the spider web, attempting to burn it out. However, that did not work out. The spider web was still unharmed, as Sasuke fell onto it.

Shikamaru cried, "Sasuke!"

Sasuke smirked, _'Now! Kiba! Akamaru! If he's in the air, he shouldn't be able to make any moves.' _

While Kidoumaru was in the air, he spotted two tornados that was coming towards him. The voice shouted, **"Gatsuuga!" **Before Kiba and Akamaru could hit him, Kidoumaru immediately swung over using his spider thread in order to landed on the branch, and glared up at Kidoumaru who hung himself on the branch upside down using spider thread. "I won't let you get away."

Kidoumaru chuckled, "That's my line. Look at your feet."

Kiba looked down and realized that the spider thread caught his feet. He growled, "Damn you! It's too early for you to think that you've caught us!"

Kidoumaru scoffed, "Whatever."

Suddenly, Neji jumped from the above, and charged down at Kidoumaru. _'Gotcha!' _Before he could hit Kidoumaru with his palm, Kidoumaru immediately released his spider thread to escape. Then, Kidoumaru created another spider ball, and turned it into the large spider web, catching Kiba in process.

Kiba shocked, "What?!"

Shikamaru bared his teeth, and thought, _'Even with me, Sasuke, Kiba, and Neji attacking all at once, it still didn't work.' _

Kidoumaru could see that Neji was struggling to break free from his technique. He laughed, "I'll make a cocoon around you here." He pulled the spider thread around in order to wrap the cocoon around Neji.

'_Damn it! What should I do? Is there a way we can get out of this spider web? At this rate, Neji is going to die, and I won't be able to get Naruto back!' _thought Sasuke. He picked up the dagger, and attempted to cut the spider web, but it won't budge at all. "What?! What's with this web?! I can't cut it. What is this made of?!"

"It's useless," declared Kidoumaru. "My web can't be severed even if two elephants pull on it." He stared down at Sasuke who struggled to cut it, and laughed, "Sasuke-sama, eh? I can capture you and bring you to Orochimaru-sama. That's the reason why we bring Naruto, so we could lure you into our trap, Sasuke-sama!"

Inside the cocoon, Neji was being stuck inside, so he began to wonder how he could get out of cocoon. _'The web is starting to absorb me. This attachment is probably made with something mixed with the special strength in his body and Chakra. Furthermore, even after he releases it from his hand, there's still a lot of Charka flowing. The Chakra is constantly flowing. Impossible! His technique level far surpasses reality.' _He closed his eyes, and sighed. _'Calm down. I need to calm down. My Chakra…' _He began to release Chakra inside his right hand.

Kidoumaru landed on the branch, and immediately pulled something from his mouth. He pulled something strange from his mouth. **"Ninpou Kumo Nekin. (Ninja Art: Spider Web Adhesive Hypha)" **

'_The color of the web is different from before. What is he going to do?' _wondered Shikamaru.

Kidoumaru removed weird web from his mouth, and all of them turned into the sharp dagger or something. But then, their sharp dagger started to become harder and harder.

'_It's hardening,' _thought Shikamaru.

Kidoumaru pointed his new weapon at Sasuke, and chuckled, "Since you're the first one, I'll put on a show for you. Don't worry. Orochimaru-sama ordered me not to kill you, so be grateful!"

Sasuke growled, "W-What?!"

Kidoumaru laughed, "I will start with your right hand!" Then, he threw his new dagger towards Sasuke.

Shikamaru cried, "Sasuke!"

The dagger impaled into Sasuke's right hand, which made him scream in the pain. Sasuke yelled, "AHHHH!"

Kidoumaru chuckled, "That hurts, right? Then your left hand is next!" He threw another dagger just to impale his left hand. "How do you like it that you're hurt? Okay, next will be your two knees at once. Take them!" He hurled both daggers to impale Sasuke's knees, inflicting more pain to him. He laughed loudly, "You have very good luck! Orochimaru did not want you to dead. He wants us to bring you back alive! Now that's last for you!" He threw the last one, impaling Sasuke's guts.

Shikamaru cried, "Sasuke!"

But Kidoumaru noticed that Sasuke began to smirk, and growled, "What's so funny?!" Suddenly, Sasuke turned into the log. "What?!"

He looked up, and noticed that Sasuke was charging at him from the above. He had to raise his hands to block Sasuke's punch, and tossed him over to another branch. Then, he swung under the branch using spider thread, and jumped on other branch. _'I see. He used Kawarimi no Jutsu, so he could find an opportunity to attack. He's an Uchiha, all right.' _He chuckled, "You're pretty good. But…"

Sasuke growled, "Dammit!" Apparently, Kidoumaru caught his hand with his spider thread. _'Dammit! To think I would be caught again! Is it good time for me to use Sharingan right now?' _

Kidoumaru laughed, "If you have no more ideas, then it's time to come with us!" He pulled Sasuke over to him using spider thread. Suddenly, Neji came forward, and chopped to rip off the spider thread. "What?"

Just as Sasuke fell down, Neji managed to catch him, and jumped on different branch. "Sasuke! Thanks for buying some time."

Kidoumaru glared at Neji and growled, "You… How…?" He noticed that Shikamaru, Kiba, and Akamaru were free as well.

"That which is made from Chakra, can be destroyed by putting Chakra into it. It's pointless against my Juuken," explained Neji.

Kidoumaru smirked, _'His technique… Only I can deal with him.'_

Neji glared over his shoulder at Kidoumaru, and demanded, "Go. I'll fight him." That was not direct to Kidoumaru, but was direct to his team.

Kiba noticed that Akamaru was trembled and slowly walked to him. He crouched down, and puzzled, "What's wrong?" Akamaru immediately jumped inside Kiba's coat. "Akamaru?" He looked up at Neji and reminded, "Looks like he's stronger than the fatass. By a lot."

"You calculated that we had to fight one on one in order to move on. You said that, right?" reminded Neji.

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah. That's exactly right."

"Besides, if we stop here, we can't catch up to Naruto. Chouji hasn't come back yet. We're here because we're on a mission to bring Naruto back. But that's not all… What we're pursuing and trying to protect is the bond as a ninja from the Hidden Village of Konoha. Do you remember what Iruka said at the Sandaime's funeral?"

Sasuke recalled what Iruka told Naruto at the Sandiame's funeral.

* * *

(Flashback Began)

_Sasuke had to wear black suit because of the funeral. Right now, he stood next to Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi._

"_Iruka-sensei. Why do people risk their lives for others?" asked Naruto._

_Iruka sighed, "When a person dies… he disappears… As does his past, lifestyle, and his future. Many people die in missions and wars. They die easily and in surprisingly simple ways. Hayate was one of them. Those who die have goals and dreams. But everyone has something just as important. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers… People who are important to you. They trust and help each other. The bond between the people important to you ever since birth… and the string that binds them… becomes thicker and stronger as time goes by. It's beyond reason. Those bound to you by that string will do that. Because it's important.'_

* * *

(Flashback Ended)

"Listen. Naruto is being brought to Orochimaru's place. We can't allow someone from our village to go to him. Never! Also…" He looked at Sasuke, and said, "Sasuke... Naruto taught me something really important. He even saved me from darkness! But right now, he's in darkness. I wanted to save him from darkness too, but I don't have a power to do it. Sasuke, you're the only who can bring him from darkness. Please bring him back. Hurry up and go. I'll catch up later."

Sasuke only nodded in response. "Yeah…"

Shikamaru stood up, and sighed, "Okay. Let's go."

Kiba grinned, "You better catch up with Chouji!" Akamaru barked in agreement with him.

Neji nodded, "Yeah." Then, Sasuke, Neji, and Kiba hopped on the branch to pursue Naruto again.

'_That's right. I'm going to bring Naruto back!' _thought Sasuke. Suddenly, the spider web charged towards them. "It's coming!" He noticed that Neji cut the thread off with his Juuken which stopped itself.

Shikamaru smiled, "He's good, all right." Now they got a chance to hop away without worrying about themselves at all.

* * *

(Later)

It had been long hour since they left Neji to fight against Kidoumaru. Right now they were still hopping on the branch on way to get Naruto. Suddenly Kiba and Akamaru smelled something nearby. He glanced over his shoulders at Sasuke and Shikamaru, and said, "They're close."

"Two enemies left," said Shikamaru. "We've got three. It's three on two. If things go well, we may finish this mission with one last encounter."

"That's right! Just hurry up and get Naruto back!" agreed Sasuke.

"No. It's four on two," reminded Kiba, which led Akamaru to bark loudly.

Shikamaru chuckled, "Okay, I gotcha. My mistake. Including Akamaru, it's four on two."

Kiba grinned, "We'll use our new move and finish this quickly."

"I'd hate to say this, but I could do… uh" Sasuke sighed, "… Naruto's signature technique just to trick them." He did not like to use Naruto's technique, but he could not come up with something technique that could be useful.

Shikamaru sighed, "That's such a good plan. But let's go with my plan first. Got it? In order to do that, we have to catch up to them before the sun sets."

Kiba grinned, "I gotcha. Let's speed this up!" Then they speeded up in order to catch up to Naruto and others." But he just noticed that the sun was beginning to set. He growled, "Damn it. We still haven't caught up to them."

"No, this is fine. We will keep this distance and continue the pursuit," said Shikamaru.

"What are you talking about?" asked Sasuke.

Shikamaru glanced over his shoulder at Sasuke and explained, "It just means that we're going to postpone the attack until the sun rises."

Sasuke was shocked at this, and did not like at all. He growled, "What?! Don't be stupid! We don't have that much time!"

"That's right! Besides, if we're going to attack, isn't it more advantageous if we attack in the dark?" asked Kiba.

"To us, the only advantage we have when we attack in the dark is that single moment when we strike. In that moment, the chances of us getting Naruto back, escaping, and then getting somewhere for away, are close to nil. If, in that moment, we aren't successful in getting Naruto back, they will collapse their defense around that barrel. If that happens, then we'll be in the dark and unable to do anything. In return, they don't have to make unnecessary movements and that also gives them the advantage. It would be different if we had Neji's Byakugan though," explained Shikamaru.

"Hey, hey. Have you forgotten my and Akamaru's nose?" reminded Kiba. Akamaru barked in agreement.

Shikamaru sighed, "I've already put your senses of smell into my calculations. Even with that, they would still have the advantage. Not to mention…" He looked up at the full moon. "If I can't use my technique, there's nothing we can do. Even if I stopped their movement by my Kage Mane, if the moon was blocked by the clouds, the plan would only be half good. It's troublesome, but there are too many dangerous uncertainties."

Kiba frowned, "But…"

Sasuke shrugged, "Okay. You're the leader. I will go with your plan."

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah. Thanks."

* * *

(Next Day- With Sakon and Tayuya)

Tayuya carried the barrel while hopping on the branch along with Sakon. Suddenly, Tayuya sensed something nearby. She cried, "Hold on!" Sakon and she had to stop hopping.

"Are we almost there?" asked Sakon.

She shook her head, and said, "No. It should take longer. But…" Sakon and she glanced over their shoulder, spotting Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Kiba behind them. "What are those morons Jiroubou and Kidoumaru doing?"

"We've caught up," Sasuke said, with his Sharingan now turned on.

Sakon stood up, and snickered, "Fine, fine. How about taking care of this quickly?! Right away?!" He immediately jumped towards them, and reeled his fist back. But Sasuke suddenly threw two kunais at him, but he dodged both of them. He made a hand seal, and yelled, "Take this!"

Sasuke immediately held his left arm with his right hand, and placed his left arm downward, while Kiba and Shikamar charged at Sakon head-on.

Sakon shouted, **"Taren Ken! (Match Punch)" **He threw a barrage of punches onto Shikamaru and Kiba, which send them knocked away.

Sakon noticed that Sasuke's hand began to charge up the lightning around his hand. He widened his eyes, and shocked, _'The Chakra is gathering onto his palm…' _

Tayuya noticed that Shikamaru and Kiba dispelled into puff of smoke. _'They were transformed Kage Bunshins…' _

Sasuke shouted, **"Chidori!" **He thrust his left hand towards Sakon, attempting to pierce through his chest. However, Sakon immediately caught it and grabbed it. _'What?! His hand just…' _

Sakon smirked, "There's no point if I grab you before you let it out."

'_Do it, Kiba!' _thought Sasuke.

Suddenly, Kiba shouted, **"Tsuuga!" **A small tornado suddenly pierced through Sasuke's back, which caused Sasuke to dispel, and continued to charge at Sakon.

Sakon widened his eyes and shocked, _'This one was a Kage Bunshin, too? So besides Naruto-sama, Sasuke can use it too? It must be his Sharingan!' _ He got no time to panic, so he had to act faster by ducking his head down to dodge Sakon's Tsuuga.

Tayuya noticed that Kiba continued to charge towards her, and thought, _'They placed Sakon and me in a straight line… They were aiming for this from the start!' _

Sakon scowled, "You think you got us there?!" He immediately jumped after Kiba. However, the shadow caught Tayuya in the process , which surprised her.

She could not move at all, and growled, "Damn it… He got me." She looked around at Sasuke who used Kage Mane technique.

Shikamaru smirked, "Kage Mane no Jutsu, success."

'_A diversion. He's coming,' _realized Tayuya, staring at Kiba's Tsuuga. However, Kiba was not going to attack her, but instead grabbing the barrel.

Sakon scowled, "Tayuya! Why are you just staring off into space?!" He noticed that she stepped forward. "Why are you stepping forward?!" He widened his eyes, and realized, _'I can't dodge her.' _Shikamaru freed her from the Kage Mane, but it was too late since Sakon accidentally tackled her down.

Kiba hung her legs over the branch upside down like a monkey. He then tossed the barrel, and cried, "Here you go!"

Sasuke caught it, and smirked, "Good!" Then he immediately hopped off to escape.

Kiba cried, "Shikamaru, let's get out of here!" They, too, hopped away to escape.

Tayuya growled, "Bastards…"

"Those pieces of trash… How dare they," muttered Sakon, as they watched Shikamaru and another escaped.

Shikamaru chuckled, "Just as I thought. They were full of openings. They have problems even though they have talent."

"It all went well," agreed Sasuke proudly.

Shikamaru nodded, "Yeah. All according to plan. It just means we were one to two steps ahead of them."

Sakon got up, and activated his Cursed Seal. He snarled, "You're not getting away!" Tayuya and he jumped on the branch to chase Sasuke and others.

Kiba glanced over his shoulder at Sakon and growled, "He's fast." But he noticed that Akamaru placed the explosive tag on the branch, but the dog stayed for long. "You idiot. If you've finished setting up the traps, hurry up!" Akamaru and he jumped off again.

Just when Sakon landed on the branch, he spotted an explosive tag that started to burn. He widened his eyes, and cried, "Oh, no!"

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

Shikamaru stared at the multiple explosions, and smirked, "Good."

"That should do it," said Sasuke.

Kiba smiled, "Akamaru. Good job." Akamaru barked happily. A several tree fell down to the ground. There was a fire thanks to an explosion earlier.

However, Sakon jumped out of the black smoke, which shocked rest of Naruto Retrieval Team. He jumped on every tree towards Akamaru, and scowled, "Quit messing with me!"

Kiba cried, "Akamaru!"

"Shut your 'woof', damn bitch!" demanded Sakon. He let out his wires to wrap around the dog, pinning him onto the branch. "I'll kill you." However, the explosive tag on the branch next to Akamaru began to burn.

Kiba grabbed the branch before spinning to jump towards Akamaru. He cried, "Wait for me." As soon as he landed on the branch, the explosive tag suddenly exploded.

**BOOM!**

Sasuke and Shikamaru were in shocked that Kiba and Akamaru were caught in the explosion along with Sakon. Shikamaru cried, "Kiba! Akamaru! Damn it." Luckily, Kiba was able to save Akamaru, and fell down to the ravine with Sakon.

Naruto and Shikamaru watched them falling down into the ravine. But they suddenly heard the voice yelled, "Hey!" That was Tayuya who charged towards them. "You shits!"

"Dammit! Kiba and Akamaru are gone! What should we do?" asked Sasuke.

"The other one has come," warned Shikamaru. He sighed, "We have no choice. I'll do something. You take the barrel and go on ahead."

Sasuke nodded, "Right!" Before he could leave, they noticed that Tayuya stopped all of sudden.

Tayuya looked up and demanded, "Why are you here?"

Suddenly, a man landed on the barrel behind Sasuke and Shikamaru, shocking them. Then he kicked the barrel away from them, and caught it, and jumped away. He landed on next branch, and stood up.

Sasuke snarled, "Dammit!"

Shikamaru chuckled, "Sorry, Sasuke. He wasn't in my calculations."

Tayuya frowned, "Kimimaro."

"You're too late, Tayuya. Besides, where are the other three? We were the Sound Five," said Kimimaro.

"Why are you…? Your body… Your body should be…" confused Tayuya.

"My body is broken." Kimimaro answered, "I am using my willpower to move it."

Tayuya chuckled, "Damn you. Don't you know when to die?"

"I can understand a little now. This conscious feeling of life after being released from the prison of my body…" said Kimimaro. He softly rubbed on top of barrel. "This feeling of touching a part of Orochimaru-sama's dream…"

Sasuke growled, "Orochimaru."

Kimimaro sighed, "This container is an important dream container. This is the body Orochimaru-sama really wants. But you guys were a little late."

'_Another dangerous guy has come out. This feeling I'm getting from him… He must be strong. Anywas, I need to organize my thoughts on this situation. If we act recklessly…' _thought Shikamaru.

"Hey! What does Orochimaru want to do with Naruto?! And me?! Why did Orochimaru choose Naruto?! I thought he wants me the most?! We have to do nothing with him! Give us Naruto back!" demanded Sasuke. Enraged, he jumped towards Kimimaro.

"Hey, wait," cried Shikamaru.

Sasuke reeled his fist back, and was about to bring his fist at Kimimaro, but only to get punched by Tayuya. He immediately flipped and landed on other branch next to Shikamaru.

Kimimaro landed next to Tayuya, and reminded, "Tayuya. There is a reason why I'm not going to kill you here. It's because you must live to carry out a duty you must do right now. And my duty is to deliver that to Orochimaru-sama."

Tayuya frowned, "Didn't you say it's too late?"

Kimimaro smiled, "I told you. That is the body Orochimaru-sama really wants."

"Meaning, the next container."

"Exactly. And this is the only thing I can do for him."

"Those two pieces of trash there…"

"I'll leave them to you. However… Do not kill Sasuke." Then, Kimimaro jumped to grab the barrel and left Tayuya to fight them.

Sasuke growled, "Naruto is…! Dammit! I'm going to kill that bastard!"

"Wait, Sasuke! Calm down," begged Shikamaru.

Sasuke scowled, "Shut up! How can I be calm?! At this rate, Naruto will be out of reach again!"

'_Sasuke is right. This mission is to bring Naruto back to Konoha. In order for the mission to succeed, I must choose the road that will most likely lead to the goal,' _thought Shikamaru.

Suddenly, Tayuya picked up the flute from her pocket, and growled, "You shits. I'll end this quickly."

Shikamaru sighed, "Sasuke. Listen. Move exactly how I tell you to move."

Tayuya narrowed her eyes at Sasuke and Shikamaru, noticing that Shikamaru talked to him. First thing she set her sight on was Sasuke. _'He got a lot of nice moves. But his main ability is Sharingan which can copy a lot of technique. I'd have to be careful for his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu since he can copy Naruto-sama's signature technique.' _Next, he stared at Shikamaru. _'And he uses the shadow to bind the enemy's movement at mid range. Also, a clever squad leader.'_

"You got it?" asked Shikamaru.

Sasuke nodded, "Yeah."

Tayuya chuckled, "Come on, you shits."

Shikamaru picked up the kunai from his pouch, and declared, "It's two-on-one. We've got the advantage. If we fight together, we can take her. Let's go, Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded, "All right!"

Tayuya laughed, "Trash like you, it won't make a difference how many of you there are!"

"Don't underestimate our teamwork," reminded Shikamaru.

Sasuke shouted, "Let's go!" Sasuke and Shikamaru finally jumped and charged towards Tayuya head-on.

Tayuya growled, "Come on!"

Shikamaru swung his kunai straight at Tayuya, who parried it with her flute. He cried, "Now, Sasuke!" Sasuke reeled his fist back, and prepared to bash her, but instead, he jumped over her, and continued.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder, and sighed, _'I will get Naruto back no matter what! Just wait, Naruto!' _But he could not control his anger, thus accidentally leaking Cursed Seal across on his face.

* * *

(At the Grassland)

Kimimaro suddenly sensed that someone was after him, so he had to stop and landed on the grass. He stared at the direction where he sensed from. _'If Tayuya gets back, I'll kill her.'_

Suddenly, the shadow figure landed behind him, and yelled, "Wait!" Kimimaro noticed that he was covered with the Cursed Seal.

Kimimaro smiled, "You're here, Sasuke. That's good. You still have Cursed Seal."

"Answer me! What does Orochimaru want to do?! Why does he want Naruto?! Why didn't he choose me?! I thought he wants me the most! Dammit! Answer me!" demanded Sasuke.

Kimimaro sighed, "Orochimaru-sama has already completed the immortality technique. It takes time to learn every technique and take over the entire world."

Sasuke growled, "How does that have anything to do with Naruto or me?"

"Even if one is immortal, it doesn't mean the body will last forever. Before his body rots, he replaces it with a stronger body that acts as a container for his soul," explained Kimimaro.

"And that's Naruto?!" asked Sasuke angrily.

Kimimaro replied, "Yes. That's right. It should have been you. But he decided it was not the right time, because you are not stronger enough to leave Konoha. Naruto are stronger enough to leave Konoha because he always hates Konoha since his birth."

Sasuke widened his eyes, and shocked, "What?!"

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: So Sasuke vs Kimimaro has begun soon. Kimimaro will explain to Sasuke why Naruto hates Konoha. Of course, they will fight unitl blah blah... Like I said, there will be some twist once Sasuke vs Naruto started at Valley of the End...

Any question? Ask right away! :D Read and reviews as always, please.

Thank you. I'm out! :D


	4. Naruto's New Power!

A/N: Hello, here's another chapter! I hope you will enjoy it! You will see more of Sasuke's rage, and Naruto's dark side... BWAHAHAH! I love Dark Fanfiction!

Disclaimer: I have decided... I'm going to hand it to Hinata for disclaimer. Hey, Hinata! Say the disclaimer...

Hinata: (sniffs) Okay... Jerry doesn't own... (Sobbing) Why?! Naruto-kun! Why did he leave Konoha? (Sobbing) I thought he's good guy! But... (Sobbing) Never mind... I can't stand it! (Running away)

Me: Hey, wait! You didn't say disclaimer... What am I supposed to do with disclaimer? (Sakura clobbered my head) Ouch! What's that for, Sakura-chan?

Sakura: Idiot! She's pretty upset right now. You picked up the wrong one! Now I'm going to say the disclaimer... Jerry-kun doesn't own Naruto! Enjoy the story!

* * *

**Chapter 4: Naruto's New Power!**

* * *

(Grassland- Sasuke vs Kimimaro)

Sasuke was not sure what Kimimaro meant something about Naruto. Naruto hated Konoha since his birth? He was not sure if he just heard right. "What did you say?" He knew Naruto since their childhood. There's no way Naruto actually hated Konoha! If he recalled correctly, Naruto always yelled out loud that he would be Hokage one day! Why would Naruto betray Konoha if he wanted to be Hokage?! He hoped that he actually heard wrong.

"I said, 'Naruto are stronger enough to leave Konoha because he always hates Konoha since his birth.'" Kiminaro repeated the same word he just spoke.

Indeed, Sasuke's ears did not fail. He just heard them right! Kimimaro said that Naruto hated Konoha since his birth! Was that the reason why Naruto left Konoha? Naruto had hatred more than Sasuke has right now! He shook his head, and glared at Kimimaro. "You're lying! I know Naruto! He's not kind of type that would betray the Konoha to be Missin-nin!"

"He chooses his path. He chooses to betray his village on his own. He chooses to go after Orochimaru-sama. We never intend to force him to submit himself to Orochimaru," Kimimaro said in low tone.

"If he chooses to do that… Why did he betray Konoha?! WHY?! I demand to know everything!" demanded Sasuke.

"Wow. You're very demanding today, aren't you?" Kimimaro snorted calmly. "I said Naruto hates Konoha since his birth. Do I need to say more?"

Sasuke felt that his rage started to boil up because Kimimaro did not answer him with a very detail. He knew that he was not going to get the answer sooner. He had no choice but to fight him. "Dammit! Answer me, or I will break every of your bones until everything is answer to me!" He went into his usual fighting stance.

Kimimaro sprouted odd sharp pointy bones from his palms, and said calmly, "Come."

Sasuke growled, "Shut up!"

Suddenly, Kimimaro and he charged towards each other. Sasuke noticed that Kimimaro was going to swing his sword-like bone at him, which forced him to dodge. _'What's that bone?' _Just then, Kimimaro swung his sword-like bone at him again, who managed to duck his head down. But he noticed that Kimimaro swung his sword-like bone downward at Sasuke.

Sasuke just realized that he did not have to dodge right now, since the sword-like bone was going to hit him. He drew his kunai from his pouch, and parried Kimimaro's sword-like bone. He struggled to push Kimimaro's sword-like bone, but not till he immediately spotted another sword-like bone that swung towards him from the side. _'Shit!' _Sasuke cursed. He managed to jump back before the sword-like bone could kill him, as his feet drifted backward. _'Dammit! What the hell is that bone?' _

"Well then. How about I show you my real powers. I'll finish this all at once," said Kimimaro calmly.

Sasuke growled, "Hey, that's my line!" He grabbed two kunai from his pouch, and hurled it towards Kimimaro. His opponent casually dodged them by simply tilted his head around. He knew that Kimimaro would dodge them. That was only for distracted. He sprinted towards Kimimaro, and attempted to jab Kimimaro, but it went through the air. He looked down at Kimimaro who tilted his head down. Obviously, Kimimaro ducked.

Sasuke attempted to uppercut punch, but Kimimaro quickly evaded it. That made Sasuke pissed off. He could not even touch Kimimaro at all. He refused to give up. He would try his best to touch Kimimaro!

Sasuke delivered a roundhouse kick, aiming at Kimimaro's head. Kimimaro ducked down. Sasuke's feet swooped past Kimimaro's head. But as soon as Sasuke's feet touched the ground, he immediately swift kicked his opponent, but Kimimaro casually blocked with his both arms. Then, Kimimaro grabbed his legs, and spun him to throw him away. Sasuke immediately landed on the ground, as his feet drifted backward.

Sasuke glared at Kimimaro, and thought, _'Dammit! No matter how I attack, he keeps dodging. Dammit! What should I do?' _He diverted his pupils to the barrel where Naruto was. _'Shit! I can't think a way to touch Kimimaro! All I think was how to get Naruto back! In that case…' _

He sprinted towards Kimimaro, but this time, he attacked with his Kunai. He swung his kunai at Kimimaro, who parried it with the bone sword. Suddenly, Kimimaro kicked Sasuke in the guts, knocking him away. But Sasuke stopped himself, and charged towards Kimimaro. He swung his kunai at Kimimaro, but only to miss his critical hit. Suddenly, Kimimaro brought his knee against Sasuke's stomach, doubled him over.

Sasuke was knocked away, but he managed to stop himself, and drifted his feet backward onto the ground. He was really frustrated because he could not even touch Kimimaro at all! He could not figure how to touch Kimimaro. _'Dammit!' _

Kimimaro sighed, "I won't kill you, Sasuke."

Sasuke widened his eyes in confusion. He did not know why Kimimaro did not want to kill him. But he just remembered who Orochimaru was after. Him… and Naruto. He scoffed, "You don't want to kill me? So, are you going to drag me all the way to Orochimaru? Sorry, but I won't let that happen! I'm not going to serve Orochimaru ever! EVER! Naruto and I will never be Orochimaru's!"

"No," replied Kimimaro calmly.

"What?! What do you mean, 'no'?!" confused Sasuke.

"I'm not going to bring you to Orochimaru. He ordered us to make our decision whether or not to bring you over there. I decided that I'm not going to bring you to Orochimaru," said Kimimaro.

"What? Then why did you choose not to? I don't understand…"

"That's because…" Kimimaro sighed, "You are weak…" That words actually astounded Sasuke. That words Sasuke did not like it. Kimimaro knew that, but he continued anyways. "You're weak. You are not strong enough to betray the village. You don't have enough hatred to do it. That's why Orochimaru preferred Naruto over you."

"Are you telling me that… Naruto is stronger than me?" hissed Sasuke.

"Yes, that's correct. He's stronger than you, because he has more hatred than you do right now. His hatred makes him stronger and stronger, so he could leave Konoha for sure. He's stronger enough to come to Orochimaru, while you're not. If I bring you to Orochimaru-sama, I would doubt you will do everything as he says. You would hesitate to kill everyone, even if Orochimaru-sama demands you. You won't be any useful to Orochimaru for the time beings. That's why I decided not to bring you. I recommended you to give up, and go back to Konoha."

Sasuke scowled, "This is nonsense!"

Sasuke clenched his fists, and started to become angrier, because Kimimaro kept telling him that he's weak. He knew that he's stronger! There's no way he could be weak! He hated being underestimated! He hated being overlooked! He hated being calling weak! If he would betray Konoha, he would not mind becoming stronger, and take revenge…

Sasuke shook his head, and tried to calm his anger down. _'What the hell am I thinking? Why did I think about vengeance? I promised myself that I will give up on revenge.' _He remembered what Kakashi told him…

* * *

(Flashback Began)

_Sasuke smirked, "Then how about it? Should I kill the most important person to you right now? That way you'll know that what you just said is way off the mark!"_

_Kakashi shrugged, "Well, I won't mind if you do. Unfortunately, I no longer have anbody important to me." Then he gave Sasuke an eyes smile. "They've all been killed already." Sasuke widened his eyes in shocked. "I've lived much longer than you. It was a bad time, too. I know very well how it feels to lose important people. Well, I'll say that we're both unlucky people. That's a fact. But we're not completely out of luck." Then he smiled, "You and I have important friends, don't we?"_

_Sasuke knew what Kakashi meant. They had an important friends to them were Sakura and Naruto._

"_You understand because you lost important people," explained Kakashi. Then he pulled the wire off to release Sasuke. "You were given the power of Chidori because you have made important friends. That power isn't used against friends or for revenge. You should know what that power is for. Think very carefully about whether or not what I said is off or not."_

* * *

(Flashback Ended)

Sasuke looked at Kimimaro's bone that came out of body carefully, and thought, _'Calm down… Think! This guy… What is he…? Is he making his bones stick out from his body and attacking?'_

Kimimaro unzipped his white cloth, which confused Sasuke. Suddenly, a bone slowly came out of his shoulder. Then he grabbed his bone, and lifted it up.

'_He grabbed his own bone!' _surprised Sasuke. But he did not notice that the shadow started to come out of the barrel.

"Just a bit longer," said Kimimaro. He removed bone from his shoulder, and revealed it as katana.

Sasuke widened his eyes, and startled, _"He's using it as a katana…' _He immediately threw kunai at Kimimaro who deflected it with his bone katana. He threw another after one at Kimimaro who kept deflecting them.

Kimimaro scoffed, "It's pointless. This is not a normal bone. The density of this bone makes it as hard as steel."

"So what? That bone, I will get rid of it!" declared Sasuke. He would have to figure how to break the bone. He knew that it would be difficult to fight him. He knew that it would be long fight.

Kimimaro sighed, "I have mastered the five dances…" He pulled his shirt back to his shoulder. "It's better if you don't assume that you know all about me."

Sasuke snarled, "What?"

"Next, I will show you Tsubaki no Mai. Come," demanded Kimimaro.

Sasuke shouted angrily, "SHUT UP! You don't need to tell me! I'm going to kill you!"

"You should not make promise that you cannot keep," warned Kimimaro.

"SHUT UP!" demanded Sasuke. He jumped towards him, and threw a shuriken at Kimimaro. Then he formed series of hand seal. **"Kage Shuriken no Jutsu! (Shadow Shuriken Jutsu)" **Few shuriken suddenly appeared besides the original one. Kimimaro simply deflected them away, but they appeared to be split half for some reason. Sasuke landed on the ground, and shocked, "What?"

"I told you. This bone is denser than steel." Kimimaro reminded, pointing the bone katana at Sasuke. All shuriken clones disappeared in puff of smoke. "Perhaps it would be better if you experience it first hand." With that said, he immediately dashed towards Sasuke, who also dashed, too.

Kimimaro was the first one to make a move that swung bone katana around at Sasuke. But Sasuke moved around in order to dodge. He ducked his head, he sidestepped, and even evaded. He refused to give up, but he knew that Kimimaro would not kill him. That's why Kimimaro would not go for his vital spot. He had to roll over on the ground before Kimimaro could hit him.

Sasuke got up on his feet, and leapt towards Kimimaro as he reeled his punch back, and threw straight punch. Of course, Kimimaro dodged by casually tilting his head back. Grunting, he tried to kick Kimimaro, but it did not work. Kimimaro merely ducked his head down. Making another move, he threw a punch, but Kimimaro backed away. Suddenly, Kimimaro swung his bone katana at Sasuke, who immediately jumped back, but the katana scratched his chest a little.

Sasuke fell backward onto the ground with a small fall. He slowly got up, and glared at Kimimaro. "Damn it!

Kimimaro sighed, "No matter how many times you attack…" Enraged, Sasuke charged towards him, "…the result will be the same!" Kimimaro swung his bone katana at Sasuke again, scratching his chest again. That caused some bleed from Sasuke's chest. But this time, Kimimaro delivered a powerful kick onto Sasuke's guts, knocking him away.

Sasuke struggled to get up, but at least, he managed to get on his feet. He clutched his chest, holding bleed. He glared at Kimimaro, and groaned, "Damn it!"

"I already told you. It's pointless. It's pointless to fight me any further, Sasuke," said Kimimaro.

'_This guy, he's insanely strong! Even with my Sharingan, I couldn't land a single blow!' _thought Sasuke.

Kimimaro sighed, "It's just about time." Suddenly, the shadow started to come out of the barrel faster, which shocked Sasuke. "The first step towards fulfilling Orochimaru-sama's ambition." The tag on the barrel suddenly broke off, and exploded. It kicked up the black smoke behind Kimimaro.

**Boom!**

Just as the smoke started to clear, Sasuke widened his eyes in shocked, because he could see that Naruto stood over there. He could see that Naruto's skins were different. The skin was too tan. But he could not see Naruto's face because Naruto was on his back. Suddenly, the tan turned into red cursed seal, and reverted back to his neck.

"Nar…uto?" stammered Sasuke. He could not believe that he was finally able to see Naruto again. He growled, "NARUTO! What the hell are you doing with those bastards?! Come back to Konoha, Naruto!" He could hear Naruto's evil laugh. "Naruto?" He was not sure what's wrong with Naruto. Something about Naruto had changed a lot.

He was really confused. He could remember all moments that happened with Naruto together. He remembered that Naruto and he glared at each other every day. He remembered that Naruto and he finally completed tree-climbing training at The Land of Waves. He remembered that Naruto boasted about how they made it to the top to Kakashi. He even remembered that he wanted to fight Naruto. Naruto used to be hyperactive brat who was always being noisy about being Hokage someday! But Naruto wasn't Naruto he used to know anymore.

"Hey, I'm here to bring you back to Konoha," Sasuke said, remembering that Sakura wanted him to bring Naruto back. "Everyone's worried about you. Sakura worried about you, too. Hey, are you listening to me, Naruto?!" Once again, Naruto began to cackle manically. "NARUTO! Why are you laughing?!" Naruto ignored him, and immediately jumped away. "Wait, Naruto!"

Suddenly, Kimimaro appeared behind him, and reeled his katana back. "It's useless. I'm going to knock you out!" Then, he swung his katana at Sasuke. But suddenly, someone jumped into, and roundhouse kicked Kimimaro away from Sasuke. Kimimaro managed to drift his feet backward onto the ground.

Kimimaro glared up at the mysterious person in green outfits, and asked, "Who are you?"

"The revived student… Konoha's Beautiful Green Beast! Rock Lee!" introduced the mysterious person. Rock Lee hung his left arms behind his back, while he lifted his right hand.

Sasuke stared in shock at Lee, and confused, "R-Rock Lee?! I thought your bones are broken?"

Lee glanced over his shoulder at Sasuke, and sighed, "Don't worry about that, Sasuke-kun. Hurry after Naruto-kun."

Sasuke shocked, "Wait a second! You…"

Lee glared at Kimimaro, and said, "Please leave this person to me."

'_This guy is good,' _thought Kimimaro.

Sasuke nodded, "Lee, suit yourself. It's not my fault if you will die, but be careful. He uses his own bones to attack."

"Bones?" Lee surprised, staring at Kimimaro's bones katana.

"That guy… He's really, really strong," warned Sasuke.

Suddenly, Rock Lee lifted his thumb up at Sasuke, and demanded, "What are you doing? Please hurry and go! Sasuke-kun, you made a promise to Sakura-san with the 'nice-guy' pose, right?"

Sasuke widened his eyes in shocked. He remembered that he gave Sakura a thumb-up…

* * *

(Flashback Began)

_Sasuke looked around at the outside of Konoha, and sighed, "I will bring Naruto back. I don't know if I can promise this, but I will try my best to bring him back!" Suddenly, Sasuke gave Sakura a thumb-up._

* * *

(Flashback Ended)

Sasuke grimaced, wishing that he hadn't done that. But at least, he remembered what he told Sakura. He could not let Naruto go. He needed to bring Naruto back, because they were friends! He had his mission that needed to complete.

"I will defeat this person. It's a promise!" said Lee. Sasuke smiled and nodded at Lee He then walked away.

Kimimaro growled, "You think I'll let you?" He jumped over Lee's head, and went towards Sasuke, who began to run away. He swung his katana downward at Sasuke, but only to be caught by Rock Lee's bare hands.

Rock Lee glared up at Kimimaro, and growled, "Please don't ignore me." Kimimaro scoffed at him, but he looked up at Sasuke who, once again, ran away.

Sasuke clenched his fists, wondering why Naruto betrayed them. He could not believe that Naruto ignored him! He would not be pleased that he was being ignored! Naruto needed to pay for it! He must bring Naruto back no matter what! He jumped on the branch to pursue Naruto.

He could see that Naruto was hopping away from him. He cried, "Naruto! Why are you running away? Naruto!" Naruto jumped out of the forest. Apparently, that was the end of forest, so Sasuke jumped out of the forest as well. He stumbled upon the ground next to the cave, and spotted Naruto jumping into the cave. Sasuke immediately followed Naruto into the cave.

When he went into the cave, he stopped running. There was dark in cave where he could hardly see. "Naruto! Come out, Naruto! Dammit! Answer me!" demanded Sasuke. He walked slowly to watch out for Naruto. "What's happened to you?!" Suddenly, he saw the golden ball in front of him. He was not sure what's going on. Suddenly, the golden ball shrined in front of him, forcing Sasuke to shield his eyes.

He slowly opened his eyes, and spotted kid Sasuke in front of him. Kid Sasuke was crying. "Why…? Why? Why did my brother kill my parents?!" He rubbed his eyes, and continued to cry.

Sasuke growled, because he did not want to remember that day! Moreover, he wanted to forget about the past, so he could move on with his life! Suddenly, he went back into the reality. "Come back, Naruto! Everyone is worrying about you! Sakura is worrying about you, too! Dammit! I can't see anything in dark!"

"_Sasuke..." _the voice suddenly came to his head. Sasuke could swore that he just saw Neji in front of him._ "Naruto is in the darkness right now."_

"N-Neji…"

"_If you stop here, you won't be able to catch up to Naruto," _said Neji

Sasuke cried, "N-Neji!" Neji disappeared. He sighed, "That's right. What you said is right. I shouldn't be standing around like this. Dammit! I'm going to bring back Naruto! Naruto!"

He then ran again, but he could see that there's light hole in front of him closer and closer. As soon as he came out of light, he saw that Naruto landed on the large statue next to the waterfall. He assumed it was time that Naruto had gotten sick of him. He jumped onto the statue on opposite of other statue. "NARUTO!" Naruto began to walk away, but Sasuke shouted angrily. "Idiot, are you going to run away from me like a coward?!"

Naruto looked around at Sasuke, and smirked, "Yo!" Sasuke was in shocked to see the cursed mark that came across on Naruto's left eyes. "What's the matter? You look sad. That isn't like you."

Sasuke remembered what Sakura said to him. _"I couldn't do it… I couldn't stop Naruto… I'm sure of it… The only thing that can stop Naruto is… The only one who can save him… is you, Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun, my only wish… Naruto… Bring back Naruto!"_

Naruto growled, "I've already told Sakura-chan, but… do me a favor… Get lost, and go back to Konoha!" Suddenly, his mouth turned into evil smirk. "What's with that face? You're shocked, right?"

Sasuke could not believe that Naruto had changed a lot. All he could remember was that Naruto was always noisy brat. Now Naruto wasn't anymore. He remembered the day they were placed in the team together. He remembered when he and Naruto started to become good friends and rivals. But right now, Naruto stood in front of him wasn't Naruto anymore!

"Why? Why? Naruto… What the hell happened to you?! I thought you wanted to make everyone in the village acknowledged you?! I thought you want to be Hokage?!" asked Sasuke angrily.

"Shut up…. Why do you care so much about me?" Naruto sighed. "I have my own path to follow. I don't care who they're, they can't tell me what to do! I will tell you this. I'm not going to associate with filthy Konoha anymore. Go home… Unless…" He pointed at Sasuke, and smirked, "Unless you want to come with me to Orochimaru… You have your own ambitions, right? To kill Itachi?"

Sasuke widened his eyes in shocked. He remembered what Itachi said to him when he was a kid.

* * *

(Flashback Began)

_Itachi sighed, "You are not even worth killing. Foolish little brother… If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me… and survive in an unsightly way. Run. Run and cling to life."_

* * *

(Flashback Ended)

Sasuke clenched his fists tightly, and felt rage inside himself. It's true. He wanted to kill Itachi so badly. But he reminded himself that he wanted to give up on revenge. He scowled, "Shut up! I'm not going to be with Orochimaru! I made a promise! I promised myself that I will give up on revenge! You will not change my mind no matter what! And… don't you care about everyone? Everyone… Everyone … risked their lives… to come after you!"

Naruto folded his arms, and shrugged, "Well, good for them."

Sasuke growled, _'Dammit! He won't listen to me! That idiot!' _Then, he remembered what Shikamaru told them back at Konoha's Gate.

"_And finally, this is the most important things that I have to say. Naruto is a close friend of mine. I want to get him back no matter what! But if I'm ordered to kill Naruto, then I have to do, even if I don't want to. But I'm relieved that Hokage-sama ordered us to bring Naruto back. He is our comrade. That is why we will put our lives on the line to bring him back. This is the way of the Konoha.' _

Enraged, Sasuke jumped higher towards Naruto, and shouted angrily, "You're an idiot!" He tackled Naruto down onto the ground, and clocked him in the head harder. Naruto immediately spat the blood out of his mouth onto Sasuke's face.

Naruto stared at Sasuke's glaring eyes. He did not like that at all! He did not like the way someone glared at him! He growled, "See?! You glared at me like that! That's the reason I left Konoha! I'm going to Orochimaru's place!"

Sasuke scowled, "You idiot! Orochimaru is the guy who killed the Sandaime and tried to crush Konoha. You think he'll give you power for free?! He just wants your body as a container! You might not be able to come back! You might be killed! You're an idiot if I will let you go so easily!"

Naruto chuckled, "I don't care. As long as I can accomplish my goal, that is. However, if you intend to get in my way, I will crush you." He grabbed Sasuke's blue shirt.

"Don't be so stupid! I won't let you go! I'll take you back, even by force! There's no way you can defeat me! You should know better!" warned Sasuke. Suddenly, Naruto began to snicker. "What are you laughing about?"

Naruto chuckled, "That time, you wanted to fight me. You were so angry… You wanted to kill me back then. Well, that's because you were jealous that I'm stronger than you, right?"

Sasuke growled, "You better shut your mouth! You're not stronger than me! There's no way a dead-last like you're stronger than me! What the hell is wrong with you, you clumsy idiot?!" He remembered what Naruto said to him the same thing back then.

* * *

(Flashback Began)

_Sasuke scoffed, "Whatever, let's get started."_

"_Before that, put on your forehead protector. I'll wait," said Naruto. _

"_I won't need it," replied Sasuke._

_Naruto shrugged, "Whatever… I don't care if you're going to put it on or not."_

_Sasuke pointed at his own forehead, and chuckled, "That's true. You won't even be able to scratch my forehead."_

_Naruto scoffed, "No, you're wrong. I can scratch your forehead. But you're the one who couldn't scratch my forehead!"_

_Sasuke growled, "That's what I mean when you're full of yourself! You think that you and I are equals?"_

"_No, I'm stronger than you, Sasuke!" remarked Naruto. "I'm always better than you ever since I became ninja!"_

_Sasuke scowled, "You're an eyesore!"_

* * *

_(Later)_

_Sakura cried, "Stop it!" She ran towards them, and began to panic. Naruto and Sasuke were on mid-air, and charged towards each other with their Rasengan and Chidori. Suddenly, Kakashi grabbed Naruto and Sasuke's wrists and spun around to throw them at the water tank._

* * *

(Flashback Ended)

"That's right! I wanted to kill you! But… this time, I don't!" Sasuke snarled, "Even now… I…"

"Oh, you're worrying about me right now? How touchy! In fact, I don't give a damn about your circumstances," sneered Naruto. "Oh, by the way, I'm a clone!" He disappeared in puff of smoke.

Sasuke shocked, "What?!"

"I'm right here!" Naruto yelled, drawing Sasuke's attention. He punched Sasuke in the face, knocking him down through the waterfall. He stared at his own right fist, and thought, _'What is… this power? I feel power flowing out. It's not the Kyuubi… It's…' _Suddenly, the curse seal on his left eyes began to gone back to his neck. _'So this is the power he was talking about. I can feel the power growing in my body.' _He formed an evil smirk. _'If it's like this now… If I release the curse seal… I wonder how much power…? With this power, I might be able to…' _

Under the water, Sasuke was floating inside the water, and thought, _'What power. He's not the same as before. I wonder if I get that power just like him… I might be… No! I can't! I promised myself that I will give up on revenge!' _He knew that it would be hard to knock some senses into Naruto. He swam up to the surface of lake, and landed on the water. He stared up at Naruto, and panted heavily.

Enraged, Sasuke ran on the ground, and growled, "Wake up already, idiot!" He jumped towards Naruto. But Naruto leapt towards him as well. They charged at each other, but Sasuke was the first one to make a move. He tried to land a blow, but Naruto dodged it, and delivered a kick onto Sasuke's stomach. Sasuke spewed out the blood from his mouth, and shot backward into the lake.

"I have already awakened. Awakened from my idiotic dreaming about a future…" Naruto declared, staring down at Sasuke who crawled onto the ground, "of staying with villagers who hated me… That's why I left the village. That's why I sought power. My dream doesn't exist in the future… not anymore. My dream is worthless. Everyone called me a monster. Everyone told me to get away from the kids that were about my age. I wanted to get their attention. I wanted everyone to recognize me! But it didn't work… When I was kid, every day, every night, every month, every year, they tried to kill me!"

Sasuke did not say anything, but ran on the water, and threw shuriken at Naruto, who dodged it. But then, Naruto threw a lot of shuriken towards Sasuke. Sasuke startled, and immediately picked up the kunai. He deflected each and every shuriken that was coming at him away with his kunai.

Naruto clapped his hands, and applauded, "You're damn good, Sasuke! No wonder you're an Uchiha. You got some amazing fighting skills in you. Itachi taught you that, right? It's such a pity that your clans were wiped by your older brother Itachi."

Okay, that's it! Naruto triggered Sasuke's anger! Sasuke glared up at Naruto, and growled, "SHUT UP! You know nothing about my clan and my brother!"

He leapt higher towards Naruto and reeled his fists back. However, just as he brought his fist back at the blonde traitor, Naruto suddenly brought his fist onto Sasuke's stomach, doubled him over. Sasuke threw up another blood from his mouth.

Naruto leaned his head and whispered into Sasuke's ear. "However, you cannot beat me, Sasuke. I've become much powerful than you thought. I've been secretly training harder so I could be stronger, but I pretended to be weakling, so I could use you guys. I will tell you something good… When I get much stronger, I will destroy… Konoha!"

Sasuke widened his eyes in shocked. He looked at Naruto, and gulped, "You can't be serious…"

Naruto chuckled, "Oh, yes. I'm serious…" He released his fists off from Sasuke's stomach, allowing Sasuke to hold his stomach. Then, Naruto roundhouse kicked Sasuke, bashing him through the small rock down on the ground. "I'm really serious about it! I'm going to destroy Konoha! That's my ambitious! I will let you make that decision. You have three choices. Go home, just die, or come with me to Orochimaru's place. What will it be?"

Sasuke struggled to pull himself up on his feet, but he managed to do it. He did know what he was supposed to do. He didn't believe that Naruto was using them since they were formed team together. He did not believe that Naruto would destroy Konoha. "No…I'm going to…" He clenched his fists, and growled. "I'm going to fight you, and break every of your bones even if I have to force you to!" He glared up at Naruto with the Sharingan.

_To be continued…_

* * *

A/N: Okay, that's it for the story! Next chapter, it will be a lot of fight. I don't know how many chapters Naruto vs Sasuke will be... Let's see :D

Any question? Ask right away! Please read and reviews as always! Okay, see ya later! I'm out! :D


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